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d'images  n6cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


1 

2 

3 

t 

2 

S 

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S 

6 

THE 


LIFE  OF  PAUL, 


BY 


D.   H.   TAYLOR 


"  I  press  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of 
the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus." 

—  Phil.  iii.  14.    _ 

J,   ,   , 
I'  * 


^3. 


\l»- 


!    1 


\ 


BOSTON: 


D.   LOTHROP  AND   COMPANY. 

1884. 


.'.\  ''■'  /■*■  -«^  .  "JV 


UI'WWW*''^'''"**'''''''*--'**'*'''*-''''*'^^ 


Copyright, 

By  D.  LOTHKOP  AND  COMPANT, 

18«3. 


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BOSTON  STKKEOTYPE  FOUNDRY 
146  HIGH  eTREET.  ' 


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€0  tf)t  fflemcrg 

OP  THAT  MOST  SCHOLABLV.  CATHOLIC.  AND  KEVKEEXl 

STUDENT  AND  TEACHER  OF  THE 

WORD  OF  GOD, 

PROF.  H.  B.  HACKETT,  D.D. 

THIS  LITTLE  HOOK  13  AFFECTIONATELY  INSCRIBED 
BY  ONE  OF  HIS  LATEST  PUPILS. 


■«m,";t» 


f 


'"!pj»HH»*t)liMmiiH»miiitt 


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^ 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


<K 


The  following  pages  are  an  attempt  to 
present  a  picture  of  the  life  of  Paul,  and  of 
the  scenes  through  which  he  passed,  within 
such  limits  that  every  person  who  desires  to, 
may  become  familiar  with  at  least  the  outline 
of  that  grand  career.  The  writer  has  nothing 
new  to  say,  unless  it  be  those  old  things  that 
are  always?  new  and  true  and  good.  Other 
men  have  labored,  and  he  has  entered  into 
their  labors,  availing  himself,  as  far  as  he 
has  been  competent  to  do  so,  of  the  latest  and 
best  results  of  their  work.  Care  has  been 
taken  to  secure  historical  as  well  as  exegetical 
accuracy.  The  writer  believes  that  the  book 
is  truthful,  and  he  hopes  that  it  may  do  good. 

Jamaica  Plaix,  December,  1888. 


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CONTENTS. 


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/: 


PART  FIRST. 

ilreparation  for  f^is  HiU-WLoxK 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  —  School-days 16 

II.  —  The  Martyrdom  of  Stephen 26 

III. —Saul's  Conversion 39 

IV. —The  Convert's  First  Six  Years  .    ...  56 

V.  —  Antioch  OF  Syria .  66 

VI.  —  The  First  Ten  Years  after  Christ  .    .  76 

VII.  —  The  Work  and  the  Man 86 

PART  SECOND. 

JTfje  jFirst  iHigiSionaro  Sourneg. 

VIII. —The  Start 105 

IX.  — Barnabas  and  Saul  on  Cyprus  ....  116 

9 


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iTiTTin7iHT3rw»JBi?-.gTr  "^ 


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10 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

X.  —  Paul    and   Barnabas   at  Antioch   in 

PiSIDIA 127 

XI.  —  IcoNiuM,  Lystra,  and  Derbe    ....  141 

XII.  —  The  Council  at  Jerusalem 162 


XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 


PART  THIRD. 

Wiit  Secont)  iEisdionarg  Journeg. 

Through  Asia  Minor 167 

Up  to  Philippi 178 

On  to  Attica     . 194 

In  Templed  Athens       203 

Two  Years  at  Corinth 217 


PART  FOURTH. 

Cfie  CfjirtJ  JHiggionatg  JJcumeg. 

XVIII.  —  Ephesus  and  Apollos 235 

XIX.  —  Ephesus  and  Paul 245 

XX.  —  A  Flying  Journey 262 


\ 


CONTENTS. 


11 


127 
141 
152 


1;< 


PART  FIFTH. 

^mgt,  Exial,  limmisianmtnt 

CHAPTER                                                             ^  p^Og 

XXI. —  The  Arbest  at  Jerusalem 281 

XXII. —  The  Pbisoner  at  Cssarea 299 

XXIII. —  The  Stormy  Voyage  and  Shipwreck  .  .316 

XXIV.  — The  Prisoner  at  Rome 336 

XXV.  — The  Last  Years 354 

Table  of  Paul's  Epistles 302 

Some  Books  on  Paul 3Q3 

lNJ>Ex 305 


*ii:«(S4i5S5S5t»i'iSi" 


:xsiaetrvim:;sm«m  m 


I 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAOI 

The  Ship  on  the  Fifteenth  Morning      .    .    .    Frontispiece 

Map — Saint  Paui's  Journeys 31 

Gardens  in  Damascus 43 

Straight  Street,  Damascus 51 

Elymas  Struck  Blind 123 

Paul  Preaching  at  Athens      213 

The  ^oean  Shore,  Smyrna 269 

A  BOMAN  Soldier 287 

Saint  Paul's  Bay,  Malta 329 

Entrance  to  Rome 343 


.;5 


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4L 


PART  FIRST. 


^vcpnv^tion  tor  gis  gife^lSlavn. 


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LIFE    OF    PAUL. 


1 


I 


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A 


CHAPTER    I. 

SCHOOL-DAYS. 

"  A  citizen  of  no  mean  city."  —  Acts  xxi.  39. 

"The  thought!*  of  youth  are  long,  long  thoughts." 

H.  W.  Longfellow. 

AWAY  up,  almost  at  the  extreme  northeast 
-  corner  of  the  Mediterranean,  there  is  a 
Turkish  city  called  Tersoos,  the  most  impor- 
tant city  of  eastern  Asia  Minor.  It  is  situated 
twelve  miles  from  the  coast,  on  the  western 
bank  of  the  Cydnus,  —  a  cold  mountain  stream, 
which  tumbles  down  from  the  perpetual  snows 
of  the  Taurus,  and  makes  its  way  rapidly  across 
the  Cilician  plain  to  the  sea.  This  plain  is 
described  as  beautiful  and  fertile.  In  the  sum- 
mer its  grain-fields  gleam  in  the  sunshine,  and 
the  meadows  are  so  luxuriant  that  ripplfng 
under  the  wind  they  look  from  a  distance  like 
a  billowy  ocean.  The  plain,  however,  is  nar- 
row, being  invaded,  not  many  miles  back  of 
where  Tersoos  stands,  by  the  foot-hills.  In 
these  hills  roam  the  flocks  of  goats  whose  long 

15 


, 


16 


I 


LIFE   OF  PAUL. 


coarse  hair  save  tho  »  ^'^'^'  ** 

""s   .e.sort   of  flocL  If/   k    f^P'*-      Over 

«»owv  peaks  of  the  T~2t      ^'"'"'"''^  •'««   the 

the  northern  wall  of  cS  "^'  "'"r''  '»"'^- 

«"nous  pass,  the  CilioiaToJ      .^^  '*^  "'"^t 

o-osscsfromTersoos    oIL?  f;  '^^  ^'S^'^'^y 

«'«  West.     The  eas  e  „  iTI  ^''^  ^'"°''  -«l 

eastward  from  Tersoo?Li  ""''"«'•  gw«g 

"-  Cydnus   thro  :h   tht  ?!•'        '"'  """^^ 
,7"»ge  of  Adana    over  th  '^^''^   '"    ""e 

everywhere.     There   .•/  ''"'''°'"  "'^ound 

thirty  thousand,,  o  cu^e^d' hf  v""""  "'  "^-' 
«"me  in  agriculture,  sofnein  "'  ''''^"^'  - 

'»"k«?  'opes  and  sick,  ""■""«'  °*'""-«  -n 
h»"-  «till  others  intul  ^"'^  °*'  ««"'«' 
fr«".  wool,  goats  hir.:5,T,  '^^"'"'^  ^'-n. 
"»t«.  and  such  other  Z^^  a  th''  """'  »"•"- 
y   country  aiTords    ^vMe  '  «»rround. 

''•■'•V«  i"  i.H.ole„ce  and  thirty'"'  '""''    ""«"' 


-«i» 


-1^ 


i 


^h- 


SCHOOL-DAYS. 


17 


L  Tersoos  is  very  ancient.  Long  ago  it  was  the 
most  illustrious  city  of  Cilicia.  Tradition  re- 
lates that  it  was  founded  about  a  hundred  years 
after  the  time  of  Solomon,  by  Sardanapalus,  king 
of  Assyria.  -Pour  centuries  before  the  Christian 
era  Xenophon  wrote  that  it  was  large  and  pros- 
perous. z.Here  Cicero  made  his  residence  while 
governor  of  the  province  of  Cilicia.  It  was 
here  that  Mark  Antony  summoned  Cleopatra 
to  explain  some  of  her  political  movements. 
This  Venus  of  the  Nile  "sailed  up  the  river  in 
a  magnificent  galley,  its  stern  covered  with 
gold,  its  sails  of  purple,  its  oars  of  silver."' 
The  queen  lay  under  a  golden  canopy,  fanned 
by  boys  dressed  as  Cupids,  while  the  sailors 
appeared  as  Nereids  and  Graces.  The  river 
banks  were  black  with  the  wondering  crowds, 
who,  in  their  admiration  at  the  advent  of  the 
supposed  goddess,  made  the  air  fragrant  from 
burning  incense.  Antony  himself  was  so  fas- 
cinated with  the  beauty  of  this  wonderful  crea- 
ture, and  with  the  luxury  which  surrounded  her, 
that  instead  of  becoming  Cleopatra's  judge,  he 
became  her  lover  and  facile  slave. 
. '-  At  this  time  Tersoos,  or,  as  it  was  then  called, 
Tarsus,  ranked  among  the  first  cities  of  the 
world.  It  was  one  of  the  busiest  mercantile 
ports  of  the  Mediterranean  ;  while  in  scholar- 

•  Plumptie :  "  St.  Paul  in  Asia  Minor,"  p.  15. 


1 


•eit^Mtm 


I'  I 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 

s'"P  and  tlio  fino  n,-t^  ;, 

.  Alexandria  ,.i,d  A,i  et      7  "■''"""''  ""'^  '>y 

.       -hiC, ,.„„„„ ,„,„  „.„„     •   J^^'-  »e.-o  .schools  to 

t"W,  "  was  as  f,,]]  „,■  "  ,  ^"™«. '  we  are 
«t  Tarsus  as  of  ,1  T'  "'"'  '""'  ''«""  trained 
Alexandria,  and  e  .  ^'edM'"'.'^"  *™'-^  »' 
a  passport  to  the  post  "f  t^ft  ".''"^  "^  "'"^h 

"ther."    The  Ian!,"  !o  1  t"' "'■,''  '■^^''"-  '•'«  "^e 
'vas  Greek, -a  C^^"*  "  ".  ™'*'^*"<''' «'"««es 

tte,r  native  dialect  'J,^''  "'"»'>  ret-^ined 
Jews  and  persons  „f  ^''•''.\  ^^''"■«  "Iso  a,a„y 
their  ho„,es  and  ;j;,  J^^l"   ''."-ent  who  in 

-hools  used  the  J.rnX^rthT'''"'^"^"*^ 
•"•ew.     There   w.as   i   Z  •?  ''"*'^''''  He- 

offon„.ofworsC;Mr5,:''-^"»--or 
'•e«'ly  to  adopt  the   fom.  ^""P'''  '^«'-e 

Soman  government    I.u  "o  "'"''"'■"''''  ''>■  ^he 
<levotion  to  the  d   ties  of  r      '"""*''"""'  *«»■ 
J»ng  to  the  tmditio„:  :  .-S'f '7''"^  "''-- 
Jewish  residents,  however^hTld  ,f '^•'"'-  '^''« 
their  own  faith  and  form  J       ^^"^•O'^'^fy  to 
read  their  scripturl,  1? T,       ^''^'^'P-      They 
children ;  the/i"     n    1-    "^'"  ""*"»  *°  ^eir 
_  ^  ■"<"'"  *he„.  synagogues  on  the 

"I  all  a  e  practical  system,  the  StJ-  ?   ' '"'"'  *«  ra™t  serious 

Asia  Miuor/'—j  p  .,     '  ""  '•<>".  is  itlenti/ie,|  witl,  ii,.. 

'  ''"="''  Education,"  p.  i3g 


Birth.] 


SCHOOL-DAYS. 


19 


v 


Sabbath  and  worshipped  with   th^ir  faces  to- 
ward Jerusalem. 

It  was  in  such  a  city,  among  such  a  people, 
that,  a  few  years  after  the  birth  of  Christ,  Saul 
was  born.  We  know  little  about  his  parents, 
except  that  they  were  Jews,  and  Pharisees,  and 
that  his  father  was  a  Roman  citizen.  We  know 
also  that  ^e  had  one  sister ;  but  whether  there 
were  any  others  —  sisters  or  brothers  —  we  are 
not  told.  There  is  no  doubt  that  while  Saul  was 
a  small  boy  he  was  taught  to  read  the  Hebrew 
Bible,  and  instructed  in  the  history  and  religion 
of  his  nation.  As  he  grew  older  he  probaoly 
attended  the  schools  of  Tarsus,  where  he  would 
study  geography  and  mathematics,  poetry,  and 
even  metaphysics.  Sometime  too,  while  yet  a 
boy,  he  learned  the  trade  of  tent-making  (at 
which  in  later  life  he  frequently  worked  to  earn 
a  living)  ;  for  every  Jewish  boy  was  required  to 
learn  some  trade,  no  matter  whether  his  parents 
were  poor  or  rich.  It  is  also  quite  probable 
that  Barnabas,  then  a  boy,  was  sent  from  his 
home  in  Cyprus  to  the  excellent  schools  in 
Tarsus,  and  that  here  sprang  up  that  friendship 
which  on  several  occasions  in  later  life  drew  the 
two  men  together.  We  think  of  the  boy  Saul 
at  this  period  as  studious,  devout,  rather  im- 
petuous and  fiery  in  his  disposition,  and  in- 
clined to  obstinacy  and  pride  —  a  burly  littl^ 


.,^^*V. 


^--snaasHp-- 


20 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  6. 


V 


Jew.  He  was  very  much  such  a  boy,  probably, 
as  the  boys  of  the  best  families  in  Tarsus  are  at 
the  present  time.  He  saw  too  the  same  luxuri- 
ant fields,  played  upon  the  ])anks  of  the  same 
mountain  stream,  lay  on  the  ground  in  the 
shade  of  the  same  species  of  trees,  picked  the 
same  kinds  of  flowers,  listened  to  the  same  bird- 
notes,  watched  the  cloud-shadows  drifting  across 
the  same  snowy  peaks  in  the  distance. 
V  But  the  schools  of  Tarsus,  excellent  though 
they  may  have  been,  were  not  adapted  to  the 
training  of  a  Jewish  boy.  Young  Saul's  par- 
ents saw  that  he  was  likely  to  be  something 
more  than  an  ordinary  man,  and  they  were 
anxious  to  give  him  the  best  possible  ^lucation. 
For  this  purpose  he  must  go  to  Jerusalem.  It 
is  not  improbable  that  his  parents  entertained 
the  hope  that  their  son  might  be  a  Scribe  or 
Teacher  of  the  Law.  The  most  famous  school 
in  which  to  prepare  for  this  profession  was  that 
of  Gamaliel.' .  To  this  boys  were  admitted  at 
the  age  of  thiiteen,  provided  they  were  able  to 
pass  the  enterjng  examination.  The  curriculum 
for  those  who  took  the  full  course  lasted  from 
fifteen  to  seventeen  years. 

We  can  imagine  Saul  making  preparation  to 
exchange  his  home-life  for  that  of  the  school  in 
Jerusalem.       His    thoughts    would     naturally 

1  "  The  University  of  Jerusalem,"  Lewiu,  i.  9. 


.1 


^ 


JET.  13.] 


SOHOOL-DAYS. 


21 


.>. 


he  occupied  with  the  future.  That  city  of 
David,  of  which  he  had  read,  about  which  his 
mother  had  tokl  him  so  many  fascinating  stories, 
of  whose  walls  and  towers  and  palaces  and 
Temple  he  had  often  dreamed,  he  was  going  to 
see  !  Hope  was  keen  in  the  young  Pharisee. 
His  mother,  we  may  ])elieve,  had  taken  pains 
that  everything  should  ])e  rcjidy  fi»r  his  depart- 
ure. Perhaps  his  father  had  put  into  his  hand, 
with  a  word  of  timely  advice,  a  few  Roman 
coins.  At  the  last  moment  father  and  mother 
bid  him  good-by,  and  in  a  few  hours  he  is  on 
board  ship,  and  feeling,  possibly  for  the  first 
time,  the  swell  and  roll  of  the  sea.  The  eager 
boy  takes  a  farewell  look  at  the  shores  of  Cili- 
cia,  sees  the  familiar  moufltains  fading  from 
view,  and  then  turns  his  face  toward  the  new 
shores, — the  shores  of  that  promised  land, 
visions  of  which  had  been  filling  his  young 
mind. 

Palestine  at  this  date  was  no  longer  the  home 
of  a  distinct  nation.  Rome  had  become  "  mis- 
tress of  the  world."  Other  nations  were  only 
provinces  under  the  sway  of  her  magnificent 
empire,  which,  enthroned  in  the  city  of  Romulus, 
was  ordering  the  affairs  of  al'^  mankind ;  and 
Palestine  was  merely  a  small  and  remote  part 
of  one  of  the  most  distant  provinces  of  the 
empire,  namely,  Syria.     Jerusalem,  the  ancient 


22 


LIFE   OF  PAUL. 


[A.D.  19. 


1/ 


cupitiil  of  PalostiMc,  was  three  hundred  miles 
from  Antioch,  the  ilhistrious  capital  of  Syria. 
Saul  must  have  como  to  Jerusalem  about  the 
time  of  the  death  of  the  great  and  much 
loved  Augustus,  when  Tiberius  became  em- 
peror. 

We  should  remember  that  while  Palestine 
was  a  part  of  the  province  of  Syria,  it  main- 
tained, on  account  of  the  peculiar  difficulties  in 
controlling  the  Jewish  population,  and  for  other 
political  reasons,  a  i)artial  independence.  The 
whole  province  of  Syria  was  under  the  rule  of  a 
governor,  or  proconsul^  residing  at  Antioch. 
Palestine  also  had  its  own  governor,  or  procura- 
tor^ residing  at  Ctesarea,  appointed  directly  by 
the  emperor,  and  in  the  main  independent  of 
the  governor  of  Syria.  Valerius  Gratus  was 
made  procurator  of  Palestine  on  the  accession  of 
Tiberius,  and  continued  in  office  until  A.D.  26, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Pontius  Pilate. 

The  Romans  had  made  great  changes  in  Pales- 
tine. They  had  built  at  least  two  new  cities, 
Coesarea  and  Tiberias,  and  they  had  almost 
transformed  Jerusalem.  Herod,  a  petty  king 
by  the  gi-ace  of  the  emperor,  had  erected  here 
a  palace  famed  for  its  grandeur ;  had  enlarged 
and  strengthened  the  fortress  and  named  it 
Antonia ;  had  built  and  adorned  a  theatre,  and 
had  also  rebuilt  the  Temple  on  a  scale  of  magni- 


JSt.  13.] 


SCHOOL-DAYS. 


23 


ficence  far  surpassing  the  vork  of  Solomon.  So 
that  while  Saul,  as  a  p.itriofip  young  Jew, 
would  be  disturbed  that  his  beloved  fatherland 
should  be  under  the  yoke  of  a  foreigo  j^overn- 
ment ;  yet  in  all  its  external  aspect  the  entire 
country,  and  its  one  great  city,  presented  a  finer 
appearance  than  it  ever  had  presented  before 
the  Roman  conquest. 

Already  there  are  several  other  boys  in  Pales- 
tine who  will  some  day  be  great  men  ;  and  with 
whom,  later  in  life,  Saul  will  have  much  to  do. 
There  is  one  whose  name  is  John,  living  with 
his  aged  parents  somewhere  in  the  hill-country 
of  Judea.  There  are  others  in  Bethsaida,  who, 
scarcely  old  enough  yet  to  manage  a  fishing-boat 
on  the  Lake  of  Galilee,  are  no  doubt  busy  part 
of  every  day  drying  and  mending  the  nets,  and 
washing  and  drying  the  fish  their  fathers  have 
caught,  who  will  yet  be  brothers  to  Saul.  And 
at  the  village  of  Nazareth  there  lives  one  Jesus 
with  his  father,  Joseph  the  carpenter,  and  his 
mother  Mary,  whom,  as  Saul  grows  to  manhood, 
he  learns  to  despise  and  hate  with  great  bitter- 
ness. At  length,  however,  he  learns  to  love  this 
Jesus  so  well  that  life  is  too  small  to  give  Him, 
and  death  is  sweet  for  His  sake.  Probably  none 
of  these  boys  were  in  circumstances  to  attend 
the  great  school  at  Jerusalem.  Saul's  school 
companions  prided  themselves  on  being  of  an 


■.aHU..  mm 


24 


LIFE   OF  PAUL. 


[A.D.  19. 


entirely  diflferent  class.     Most  of  them  belonged 
to  the  aristocracy  of  the  Pliarisees. 

Z'  During  the  fifteen  years  that  Saul  was  at  Je- 
rusalem we  know  only  that  he  sat  "  at  the  feet 
of  Gamaliel,  taught  according  to  the  perfect 
manner  of  the  law  of  the  fathers."  We  may  feel 
sure  that  he  followed  the  whole  course  of  studies 
laid  down  in  the  school,  that  he  was  a  diligent 
student,  and  was  among  the  best  scholars.  His 
vacations  were  most  likely  spent  in  Tarsus  rest- 
ing at  his  father's,  or  perhaps  working  at  his 

V  trade^/  or  possibly  on  pleasant  days  going  down 
the  Cydnus  to  the  seaside,  or  away  to  the 
mountains  to  ramble  among  their  tremendous 
solitudes. 

There  developed  in  Saul  during  this  period  a 
strong,  active,  independent  character.  The  im- 
petuosity and  wilfulness  of  the  boy  had  been 
tamed  and  disciplined  into  force  and  fearlessness. 
He  was  proud  of  his  nationality,  and  looked  with 
scorn  upon  all  who  were  not  Jews.  His  days 
were  spent  in  rigid  conformity  to  the  Jewish 
law,  while  he  observed  with  scrupulous  care 
all  the  rites  and  ceremonies  which  that  law 
imposed,  attending  the  religious  festivals,  sub- 
mitting to  the  fasts,  oftering  the  sacrifices,  pay- 
ing the  fees,  making  and  fulfilling  the  vows, 
reciting  the  Hebrew  scriptures,  and  both  in 
private  and  in  public  repeating  long  prayers. 


T 


Mr.  30.] 


SCHOOL-DAYS. 


1$ 


, 


Before  he  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  thirty  he 
was  one  of  the  foremost  young  Scribes  in  Jeru- 
salem, looked  upon  by  the  older  Jews  as  a  pillar 
of  orthodoxy,  and  put  forward  as  the  champion 
of  their  venerable  religious  creed. ^ 

'  "  We  infer,  from  the  wliole  bcaiin^r  of  the  Apostle,  that  he  was 
bred  to  all  those  amenities  of  tlie  higher  circles  of  life,  which  so 
stood  him  in  stead  when  he  was  compelled  to  deal  with  men  of  high 
rank  or  culture.  Through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  his  eventful  life 
he  seems  always  to  have  borne 

*  without  abuse 
The  grand  old  name  of  gentleman.' " 

W.  T.  Burns. 

•'  We  may  assume,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  he  took  the  de- 
gree of  Rab,  the  first  step  to  honor  among  bis  countrymen ;  and 
that  he  afterwards  became  a  Rabbi,  the  second  step  amongst  the 
learned  doctors.  The  diploma  of  Rabbi,  conferred  by  the  Univer- 
sity of  Jerusalem,  was  of  the  greatest  service  to  Saul  in  his  subse- 
quent labors ;  for  it  enabled  him  to  address  his  countrymen  in  the 
synagogues  abroad,  and  to  command,  from  his  rank,  their  respect* 
ful  attention."  —  I.ewin,  i.  13. 


■W;*i'  - 


i 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  MARTYRDOM  OF  STEPHEN. 

'•  Foremost  and  nearest  to  His  throne, 
By  perfect  robes  of  triumph  known, 
And  likest  him  it.  }ook  and  tone, 

The  holy  Stephen  kneels, 
With  steadfast  gaze,  as  when  the  sky 
Flew  open  to  his  fainting  eye. 
Which,  like  a  fading  lamp,  flash'd  high, 

Seeing  what  death  conceals."  —  Keblb. 

"  The  first  Apostle  who  died  was  a  traitor,  the  first  disciples  of 
the  Christian  Apostles,  whose  deaths  are  i-ecorded,  were  liars  and 
hypocrites.  The  kingdom  of  the  Son  of  Man  was  founded  in 
darkness  and  gloom.  But  a  heavenly  light  reappeared  with  the 
martyrdom  of  Stephen."  —  J.  S.  HowsoN. 

XT7HILE  Saul  is  yet  at  Jerusalem,  events 
'  ^  occur  which  give  direction  to  all  his  sub- 
sequent life.  That  John,  who  had  been  brought 
up  in  the  hill-country  of  Judea,  commences 
preaching  about  the  city,  and  at  last  estab- 
lishes himself  in  the  vicinity  of  the  River  Jor- 
dan, where  many  go  to  hear  him.  He  is  telling 
the  people  that  they  must  repent  and  live  holier 
lives,  and  that  very  soon  the  Messiah  will  be 
among  them  to  call  out  His  followers  and  set 
up  His  kingdom.  Many  out  of  the  listening 
crowds  are  persuaded  by  John's  burning  words, 
26 


t 


.L 


iET.  31.]   THE  MARTYRDOM  OF  STEPHEN. 


27 


1 


t 


^ 


X 


and,  as  a  sign  of  their  penitence  and  reforma- 
tion, are  baptized  in  the  river.  One  day  there 
appeared  among  the  people  a  new  face.  Jesus, 
the  son  of  Joseph  the  cai'penter,  has  come  down 
from  Nazareth,  and  he  also  is  baptized.  Very 
soon  Jesus  himself  commences  to  preach,  and 
one  by  one  gathers  a  little  company  of  disci- 
ples, with  whom  for  three  years  and  a  half  he 
goes  through  the  towns  and  villages  and  cities 
of  Palestine,  healing  the  sick,  speaking  with 
authority,  rebuking  the  religious  formalists, 
and  offering  eternal  life  to  all  who  believe  the 
words  he  speaks.  At  length  the  Jews  are  so 
irritated  by  the  claims  of  Jesus  that  he  is  vio- 
lently arrested  while  at  prayer,  hurriedly  tried, 
falsely  condemned,  and  impiously  crucified. 

While  these  remarkable  events  were  taking 
place  Saul  was  probably  at  Jerusalem,  or,  if 
absent  for  the  time,  he  must  have  heard  of 
them ;  for  he  was  so  patriotic  as  a  Jew,  and  so 
prominent  in  the  political  and  religious  life  of 
his  nation,  that  he  was  not  likely  to  be  ignorant 
of  the  character  and  teaching  of  Jesus ;  of  the 
accusations  made  against  him,  of  his  death,  and 
the  report  of  his  resurrection.  By  this  time 
we  must  think  of  Saul  not  as  a  student  in 
Gamaliel's  school,  but  as  an  active  Scribe  or 
teacher.  As  a  lawyer  ho  has  been  "admitted 
to  the  bar" ;  and,  more  than  that,  has  been  ap- 


pmnv"*"—" 


I' 


rt 


28 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  37. 


pointed  one  of  the  seventy-two  judges,  and 
occupies  a  seat  on  that  supreme  bench  called 
the  Sanhedrim. 

During  the  three  or  four  years  immediately 
following  the  death  of  Christ  there  were  several 
remarkable  events,  which  need  only  to  be  men- 
tioned in  this  connection,  since  they  have  merely 
an  incidental  bearing  upon  tlie  life  of  Saul. 

The  first  was  that  miraculous  occurrence  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  ten  days  after  the  ascen- 
sion of  our  Lord,  when,  as  Luke  tells  us,  His 
disciples  being  all  together  in  one  place,  "Sud- 
denly there  came  a  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a 
rushing  mighty  wind,  and  it  tilled  all  the  house 
where  they  were  sitting.  And  there  appeared 
unto  them  cloven  tongues  as  of  fire,  and  it  sat 
upon  each  of  them.  And  they  were  all  filled 
with  the  Hol}^  Spirit,  and  began  to  speak  with 
other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utter- 
ance."^ 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  Peter  cured 
a  man,  who  had  been  a  helpless  cripple  all  his 
life,  at  the  Beautiful  Gate  of  the  Temple,  by 
simply  taking  him  by  the  hand  and  bidding  him, 
"in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  rise 
up  and  walk."  -  A  great  crowd  gathered  to  listen 
while  Peter  and  his  companion  John  explained 
the  means  by  which  the  lame  man  was  made  to 


1  Acts  ii.  2. 


^  Acts  iii.  6. 


m 


i 


Mr.   31.]   THZ  MARTYRDOM  OF  STEPHEN. 


29 


walk,  and  the  result  was  that  a  large  number 
were  converted.  The  Saddueees,  however,  made 
complaint,  caused  the  arrest  of  the  apostles,  and 
brought  them  before  the  Sanhedrim  ;  but,  not 
beinff  able  at  this  time  to  substantiate  their 
charge  against  them,  were  obliged  to  let  them 
be  dismissed.  After  this,  the  apostles  were 
arrested,  tried,  and  imprisoned ;  at  one  time 
released  from  prison  by  an  angel  in  answer  to 
the  united  prayer  of  the  assembled  church ;  at 
another,  escaping  death  only  by  the  temperate 
advice  of  Gamaliel.* 

Another  event  in  the  record  is  the  startling 
and  terrible  death  of  Ananias  and  of  his  wife, 
Sapphira.2  These  two  secretly  agreed  upon  a 
falsehood  which  they  would  tell  to  make  the 
apostles  believe  that  they  had  given  away  all 
that  they  possessed,  while  in  reality  they  were 
keepihg  back  one  half.  But  "  lying  lips  are  an 
abomination  to  the  Lord."  They  both  fell  dead, 
neither  knowing  the  other's  miserable  end. 

Four  years  have  passed  since  the  crucifixion 
of  Christ.  They  were  years  crowded  with 
activity  and  development  on  the  part  of  Chris- 
tianity. The  disciples,  who  had  been  scattered 
at  the  death  of  Christ,  ca»^^e  toijether  aarain 
immediately  after  His  resurrection,  and  from 
that  time  exhibited  such  intensity  of  devotion 


1  Acts  V.  34. 


2  Acts  V.  19. 


f 


■n 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  37. 


to  Him  and  His  memory  that  their  cause  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  all  classes  in  Jerusalem. 
It  was  a  time  when  religion  was  at  a  low  ebb. 
Attention  enough  was  given  to  the  formalities 
of  worship ;  but  there  was  \ery  little  in  either 
the  teaching  or  the  example  of  any  of  the  relig- 
ious leaders  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  the  people 
or  to  incite  them  to  good  lives.  Even  Saul, 
while  he  maintained  such  remarkable  devotion  as 
he  did  to  the  religion  of  the  fathers,  must  have 
sometimes  been  less  than  satisfied  with  its  uni- 
versal dulness,  coldness,  and  fruitlessness.  This 
state  of  things,  however,  furnished  a  favorable 
opportunity  for  the  warm.,  pungent,  personal 
Gospel  preached  by  the  apostles  of  Christ ;  and 
the  people  liked  it,  even  as  they  had,  so  many 
of  them,  gladly  heard  Jesus  himself.  Accord- 
ingly, the  number  of  Christ's  followers  increased, 
not  only  from  the  poor  and  uneducated,  but 
also  "a  great  company  of  the  priests  were  obe- 
dient to  the  faith."  ^ 

Among  the  most  prominent  of  those  who 
believed  the  Gospel,  and  who  met  together  to 
worship  Jesus  and  take  counsel  for  their  work, 
was  Stephen. 

That  first  church  had  in  it  some  poor  and 
helpless  widows,  who,  if  they  had  remained 
faithful  to  the  old  Jewish  religion,  would  have 

1  Acts  vi.  7. 


Ci^tjB 


y 


ST  PAUL'S  JOUIWEYS 

AND    TlIE    PLACES     WKNTIONED    JH 
IJIE  .ATTS  JiKD  THE    £PISTT.ES 


2.f .  Jovurtu./ 
J  ''i  Jovrntjf. 


.  loo  so 

JtOft^lV   ■     ■     ■     ■     I     '     ■     ' 


JTifiJi 


'U 


^nyluk, 


so 


-.JI6&« 


^-        A^ 


'^i^HiiUk 


Ik 


20 


I,oni^Jtude  3    East 


26 


; 


') 


^:t.  31.1   THE  MARTYHDOM  OF  STEPHEN. 


been  provided  for  by  the  Corban  fund,  but,  hav- 
ing left  the  synagogues,  and  meeting  now  with 
the  disciples,  some  other  means  must  be  devised 
for  their  support.  The  first  disciples  of  Christ 
were  generous  ;  but  it  was  necessary  that  there 
should  be  some  system  as  well  as  generosity  in 
their  benevolence.  Accordingly,  seven  deacons 
were  chosen,  part  of  whose  duty  it  was  to 
attend  to  the  needs  of  the  poor.  Stephen  was  v.^ 
one  of  these.  He  was  a  young  man  of  far  more 
than  common  gifts,  —  a  Jew  who  had  received 
a  Greek  education.  He  was  vigorous,  strong 
and  bold,  and,  as  tradition  paints  him,  beauti- 
ful. It  was  natural  that  such  a  man  should 
come  quickly  into  notoriety.  With  Peter,  John, 
and  Philip  he  was  soon  recognized  as  a  leader ;  ^y 
so  that  he  was  not  only  a  deacon  to  distribute 
charity  among  the  indigent,  but  also  an  eloquent 
evangelist  preaching  the  Gospel  of  Christ  with 
so  much  force  and  zeal  that  many  were  con- 
verted, while,  on  the  other  hand,  some  were  en- 
raged. 

At  length  there  was  a  public  discussion,  at 
"which  Stephen  maintained  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity against  chosen  men  from  several  of  the 
synagogues  of  Jerusalem.' 

It  is  probable  that  Saul  took  part  in  this  de- 
bate ;  but  even  with  such  a  champion  Stephen's 

1  Acts  vi.  9-10. 


I 


34 


LIFE   or   PAUL. 


[A.D.  nr. 


enemies  were  not  able  to  hold  their  ground 
aguinst  him.  All  the  more  was  tiieir  opposi- 
tion stirred  iii).  They  were  not  only  opposed 
to  the  truth  which  he  preached,  but  Ihey  were 
alarmed  at  the  influence  which  a  man  of  such 
ability  and  zeal  might  exert  upon  all  classes,  low 
and  high,  in  the  city.  They  determined  that  in 
some  manner  he  must  be  got  out  of  the  way. 

It  happened  that  at  that  time,  A.  D.  37,  by  a 
very  exceptional  combination  of  circumstances, 
the  power  of  life  and  death  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  Jewish  authorities.  Pilate  had  been  called 
from  Ctesarea  to  Rome,  and  his  successor  had 
not  yet  arrived  in  Palestine.  The  Sanhedrim 
is,  therefore,  for  the  time  independent  and 
supreme.  It  is  substantially  the  same  body  by 
which  Jesus  was  condennied,  except  that  Saul 
seems  to  have  been  admitted  to  it  since  that 
time.  Again,  as  on  that  former  occasion,  "false 
"witnesses"  are  brought  forward.  Stephen  is 
suddenlv  arrested  and  draorgcd  into  the  hall 
Gazith.  P^v'erything  is  unfair.  There  is  only 
the  flimsiest  show  of  justice.  There  are  no  for- 
mal preliminaries.  The  "  false  witnesses  "  give 
their  testimony  —  that  the  prisoner  had  spoken 
blasphemy  against  the  Temple  and  the  ceremo- 
nies and  Moses.  Stephen  stood  alone  ])efore  his 
judges.  He  knew  that  like  blood-thirsty  wolves 
they  were   determined  to  have  his  life.     The 


W    f. 


^T.ni.T   THE  MARTYRDOM  OF  STErHEN. 


35 


■4 


i 


r 


eves  of  the  wliole  semicircle  wen?  intent  I  v 
watchin<r  their  livinfj  prey.  They  saw  not  a 
face  j)ale  witii  fear,  nor  l>lack  with  an«ror ;  but, 
a  marvel  in  that  hall  of  judgment,  "as  it  had 
been  the  face  of  an  angel." 

When  the  High  Priest,  the  presiding  judge 
in  this  court,  after  listening  to  the  testimony  of 
the  "  false  witnesses,"  said  to  the  prisoner,  ''  Are 
these  things  so?"  Stephen  had  the  privilege  of 
defence  —  if  the  opportunity  to  appeal  to  a  jury 
who  have  ah-eady  agreed  upon  a  verdict  is  any 
privilege.  At  least  he  could  stand  boldly  for 
the  tnith ;  and  immediately  he  opened  his  lips 
and  replied  to  the  charges  brought  against  him. 
It  is  a  remarkable  address,  full  of  historic 
illustration,  cogent  logic,  and  pathos.  Its  key- 
note is,  that  the  ]\Iosaic  legislation  must  inevit- 
ably make  way  for  the  coming  of  a  better  re- 
ligion, of  which  Jesus  Christ  is  the  living  heart. 
This  is  the  martyr's  supreme  thought  as  he 
stands  before  his  judges  and  pours  into  their 
ears  the  unpleasant  truth ;  but  at  the  last 
moment,  irritated  into  indignation  by  their 
proud  self-admiration,  he  bieaks  out  upon  them 
with  the  keen  and  biting  charge  :  — 

"  Stiflf-necked,  and  uncircumcised  in  heart 
and  ears  !  Ye  do  always  resist  the  Holy  Spirit, 
as  your  fathers  did,  so  do  ye.  ^A'hich  of  the 
prophets  did  not  your  fathers  persecute  ?    And 


? 


r 


36 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  37. 


they  killed  those  who  foretold  the  coming  of  the 
righteous  One,  of  whom  ye  have  now  become 
the  betrayers  and  murderers  ;  —  ye  who  received 
the  law  as  ordained  through  anacels,  and  did  not 
keep  it.*' 

There  was  not  a  more  intent  man  in  the  San- 
hedrim that  day  than  Saul.  How' the  words  of 
Stephen  —  the  angelic  face,  the  simple  earnest- 
ness and  devotion  to  his  master  —  must  have 
taken  hold  of  him  !  Foi*  Saul  was  not  a  mere 
traditionalist,  who  would  believe  and  rest  in  the 
teachinjys  of  other  men  without  thinkinsr  for  him- 
self.  It  coukl  not  l)e  that  in  a  heart  so  deep  as 
his  there  were  no  longings  unfilled  by  the  super- 
ficial religious  notions  of  so  many  of  his  own 
people.  He  was  a  Jew  outwardly,  Pharisee  of  the 
Pharisees,  after  the  law  blameless.'  But  there 
is  an  inward  grace  without  which  every  earnest 
soul  is  •unsatisfied ;  and  Saul  must  have  felt, 
while  Stephen  was  addressing  them,  that  the 
martyr  possessed  something  to  which  he  him- 
self was  a  stranger.  Uut  education,  custom, 
pride,  friendship,  oflficial  position,  occupation, 
and  that  personal  momentum  which  drives  one 

•  "  Pride  of  birth,  pride  ol'  intellect,  pride  of  knowledge,  and 
though  last,  the  deadliest  and  the  worst  of  all  these  serpents  which 
are  nurtured  in  the  human  heart,  jiridc  of  religious  profession,  mis- 
called religious  pride,  all  raised  their  hydra  heads  against  the 
eutrance  of  the  Lamb  of  God  into  his  soul."  — IIexhy  Blunt: 
•«  History  of  St.  Paul,"  p.  15. 


-4^ 


iET.31.]       THE   MARTYRDOM   OF   STEPHEN. 


37 


1 


on  in  the  direction  in  which  he  has  been  going, 
were  so  strong  in  Saul  that  they  bore  down 
every  conviction  of  right  and  duty. 

"  Cut  to  the  heart,"  the  council  unanimously 
and  hastily  condemned  Stephen  to  death, 
gnashed  their  teeth  at  him  in  their  fury,  ran 
upon  him  screaming  and  stopping  their  ears  so 
that  they  might  hear  no  more,  dragged  him  out 
of  the  judgment  hall,  along  the  street  and 
through  the  gate  out  into  the  valley  of  Jehosha- 
phat.  Here,  "  kneeling  in  a  iinal  act  of  love 
and  intercession,  he  received  the  ministering 
blows  of  death.  It  was  a  terrible,  an  agoniz- 
ing end.  With  liCavy  thuds  of  torture,"  ^  they 
bruised  and  crushed  and  killed  his  fair  youth- 
ful body,  while  his  calm  spirit  gnzed  into 
heaven,  and  saw  the  Son  of  Man  standing  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high,  and  with 
that  vision  was  so  at  peace  that  he  could  pray 
for  Heaven's  mercy  upon  his  murderers,  ^o 
doubt  Saul's  voice  was  loud  in  the  condemna- 
tion. AVe  are  sure ;  for  not  only  does  Luke 
record  it,  but  the  Apostle  himself  afterwards 
confesses  that  he  stood  by  and  ''  kept  the 
raiment  of  them  that  slew^  him."^  Perhaps  he 
was  "thinking  with  secret  joy  of  the  merits 
which  he  was  acquiring  by  participating  in  the 


»  Knox-  T.ittl,' :  "  ^r;^n^ho<tol•  Sermons,"  p.  236. 
2  Acts  xxii.  20. 


38 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


LA.ly.  37. 


death  "  of  this  zealous  follower  of  the  despised 
Nazarene. 

So  Stephen  fell  asleep  "  on  the  hard  bier  of 
the  murderous  stones " ;  ^  l)ut  the  eyes  of  an- 
other great  soul  are  soon  opened  in  the  blaze 
of  a  light  brighter  than  the  sun  at  noonday,  and 
the  work  of  the  Lord  Jesus  goes  on. 

1  Baumgarten :  "  Apostolic  History,"  i.  167. 


•e^V 


I 


.iv 


( 


Ujw 


CHAPTER  m. 

SAUL'S    CONVERSION. 

m 

**  Thou  from  on  hijrh  pcrceivcst  it  were  better 
all  men  and  women  should  on  earth  be  free; 
laws  tliat  blaspheme  and  tyrannies  that  fetter 
snap  and  evanish  at  the  touch  of  Thee." 

F.  W.  II.  Myeus. 

"  Of  Saul,  what  made  a  Paul  ?    Faith."  —  Adolpiik  Monod. 

"  I  was  unbelieving  in  the  evening,  on  the  morrow  a  Christian, 
certain  with  an  invincible  certainty.  "  —  Lacordaire. 

fT^HE  martyrdom  of  Stephen  was  the  signal 
-■-  for  a  general  outbreak  of  persecution  u})on 
the  Christians,  until  all  of  them  living  in  Jeru- 
salem, except  the  apostles,  abandoned  their 
homes  and  hurried  away  to  hide  themselves  in 
other  cities,  and  in  obscure  places  in  the 
country .  It  was  indeed  a  dark  time  for  them  ; 
but  they  would  not  yield  an  iota  in  their  devo- 
tion to  Jesus,  though  their  lives  were  at 
stake. 

Saul  seems  to  have  been  the  leadin":  s^^irit  in 
this  persecution.  Many  years  afterward  he 
declared,  in  the  presence  of  Ilcrod  Agrippa,^ 
that  he  bad  punished  the  Christians,  and  had 

'  Acts  xxvi.  9-11. 

80 


40 


LIFE    OF  PAUL. 


^ 


[A.D.  37. 


compelled  the  weak  to  deny  their  faith,  that  he 
had  thrown  them  into  prison,  had  voted  to  put 
them  to  death,  and  "being  exceedingly  mad 
against  them,"  ^  had  driven  them  out  of  Jej'usa- 
lem  to  other  cities,  and  following,  had  continued 
to  persecute  them  wherever  they  had  fled.  Dur- 
ing these  years  the  disciples  of  Christ  had  no 
enemy  so  much  dreaded  as  this  fierce  Pharisee. 
He  counted  their  lives  no  better  than  the  lives 
of  wild  dogs.  He  had  no  respect  for  age,  con- 
dition, or  sex.  He  thrust  his  bloody  hands 
into  the  very  secrecy  and  sanctity  of  the  Chris- 
tians' homes,  and  dragged  out  both  men  and 
.vomen  to  have  them  cast  into  prison,  or,  with 
little  show  of  justice,  to  be  scourged  or  stoned 
to  death. 

At  length  fuel  for  the  fires  of  persecution 
was  almost  exhausted  at  Jerusalem ;  but  the 
zeal  of  the  persecutor  was  not  extinguished. 
He  had  tasted  the  cruel  delight  of  shedding 
Ch/istian  blood  ;  but  his  appetite  was  yet  keen. 
We  may  presume  that  Saul's  visits  had  already 
struck  terror  to  the  hearts  of  Christians  in  all 
the  principal  cities  of  Palestine.  But  his  eager- 
ness carried  him  into  "stranoje  cities." 

Of  the  large  foreign  cities,  Damascus  was 
nearest  to  Jerusalem.  It  was  less  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  away,  and  could  be 
reached  in  six  or  eight  days.     It  was  situated, 


I 


«/' 


i 


' 


mr.  31.] 


SAUL  S   CONVERSION. 


41 


rK 


<-/> 


as  now/  just  beyond  the  mountains  of  Anti- 
Lebanon,  on  the  edge  of  the  Syrian   desert. 
K ,  Although  this  oldest  city  of  the  world  is  nearly 

surrounded  on  three  sides  by  barren  sands, 
travellers  vie  with  each  other  in  attempting  to 
portray  its  beauty  and  fertility.  Some  ten  or 
twelve  miles  beyond  the  city,  toward  the  East, 
are  two  small  lakes, ^  out  of  which  no  stream  or 
river  runs,  but  the  waters  of  which  are  drunk 
by  the  thirsty  sand  and  the  hot  Syrian  atmos- 
phere. The  river  Barada  (or  Abana) ,  which  sup- 
plies these  lakes,  flows  perpetually  from  the 
snowy   ravines    of    Anti-Lebanon,    and   in    its 

1  The  Damascus  of  to-day  lies  along  the  south  side  of  the 
Barada  river.  There  is  a  small  suhurl)  on  the  opposite  bank, 
called  Salahiyeh.  The  population  of  the  city  at  the  present  time 
is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  almost  the  whole  of  which 
are  Mohammedans.  There  are  a  few  fine  buildings.  The  Great 
Mosque  is  one  of  the  handsomest  structures  in  the  possession  of 
the  Mohammedans.  There  are  son;c  other  religious  huildinj,'s, 
and  quite  an  imposing  hotel,  built  of  black  and  white  marblu.  Tlie 
principal  thoroughfare  is  Sultany  Street;  which,  altliough  so  nar- 
row that  two  loaded  donkeys  can  scarcely  pass  each  other  in  it, 
and  so  obstructed  by  bends  and  projecting  houses  that  one  can  see 
down  it  but  a  little  way,  still  makes  in  general  a  direct  course 
through  the  city  from  West  to  East,  and  was  formerly  called 
"  Straight  Street."  Eighteen  hundred  years  ago  this  was  the  fash- 
ionable avenue  of  the  great  city.  It  was  one  hundred  feet  wide, 
and  was  divided  into  three  parallel  avenues,  —  two  broad  pave- 
ments on  either  side  for  pedestrians,  and  a  central  way  for  car- 
riages. Two  rowa  of  Corinthian  columns  stretched  througli  the 
whole  lengtli  of  the  avenue.  Halfway  down,  the  street  was  tjpanned 
by  a  splendid  Roman  arch,  and  at  either  end  of  it  were  tlie  massive 
threefold  gates. 

*  Porter:  "Five  Years  in  Damascus,"  p.  147,  and  his  map. 


» 


M 
i 


42 


lAYK    OF    PAUL. 


[A.D.  37. 


course  waters  tliat  fertile  spot  in  which  Damas- 
cus sits.  The  Damascenes,  like  tiie  Egyptians, 
earlv  learned  the  value  of  irri<>^ation.  ('anals 
were  cut  in  all  directions,  and  the  fertilizing 
waters  were  made  use  of  at  every  available 
point.  Groves  and  gardens  flourished.  There 
were  trees  loaded  with  delicious  fruits  of  many 
varieties,  plots  covered  with  ])rilliant  flowers, 
hedges  of  roses,  and,  spreading  over  all,  along 
every  sparkling,  melodious  Avater-course,  the 
stately  phune-crowned  palm.  In  the  midst  of 
such  a  luxuriant  o-arden  ilashed  the  "  Eve  of  the 
East."  "Its  white  buildings,"  says  Pusey, 
"  embedded  in  the  deep  green  of  its  engirdling 
orchards,  were  like  diamonds  encircled  by 
emeralds."  ^  The  Arabs  sav,  "If  there  is  a 
Garden  of  Eden  on  earth,  it  is  Diunascus  ;  and 
if  in  heaven,  Damascus  is  like  it  on  earth." 

T'  0  i)olitical  condition  of  Damascus  at  the 
period  of  Saul's  \isit  should  be  understood. 
Just  one  hundred  years  before  this  time,  the 
city  Jiad  become  a  dependence  of  the  Koman 
republic,  and  had  so  continued  to  be.  But  at 
the  death  of  Til)erius  (A.D.  ^V7),  the  change  of 
administration  i)laced  Damascus  in  the  hands  of 
Aretas,  Kini»"  of  Arabia  Petrani.  Lewin  sum- 
marizes  the  condition  of  afl'airs  thus  :  "  There 
cannot  l)e  a  doubt  that  at  the  commencement 

"  ComiULUlavv  un  Aiiuis,"  i. -S. 


r, 


,\:-' 


jaaiTiiwy 


!■     '      '        '■  ?   > 


• 


^i 


V. 


t*- 


:) 


.i    I 


,!j 


t  •; 


> 

o 
w 

O 

o 


n 

c 


1' 


I 


I 


\ 


i 


?i. 


ii 


i 


II 


'i 


ilET.31.] 


SAUL  S   CONVERSION. 


45 


of  the  reign  of  Caligula,  Aretas,  by  whatever 
means  he  attained  this  dignit}',  was  in  the 
peaceful  possession  of  Damascus.  As  a  new 
sovereign  he  was  anxious  to  gain  popularity 
with  all  classes  of  his  subjects,  and  in  particu- 
lar exhibited  a  conciliatory  demeanor  t()^vards 
the  Greeks  and  Jews,  who  formed  no  snuiU 
part  of  the  population.  Aretas  describ^^;  him- 
self on  his  coins  as  Lover  of  the  Greeks  ;  and, 
as  regards  the  Jews,  he  accorded  to  IIkmu  all 
the  privileges  which  they  were  allowed  in  cities 
where  they  were  most  favored.  Xot  only  w^ere 
they  allowed  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion, 
but  they  were  permitted,  as  at  Antioch  and 
Alexandria,  to  govern  their  own  community  by 
their  own  peculiar  laws ;  and  the  local  chief 
of  their  nation,  or  ethnarch,  had  authority  to 
arrest  and  punish  any  dclincjucnt  amongst  his 
own  people."^ 

This  accounts  for  the  large  number  of  Jews 
resident  at  Damascus  at  this  time,  man}'  of 
w^hom  were  (Christians,  and  also  explains  why 
the  High  Priest  at  Jerusalem  could  confer  so 
much  authority  on  Saul,  to  be  exercised  in  a 
foreign  city ;  for  Jews  ever}'where  and  in  all 
conditions  acknowledged  the  su})remacy  of  the 
High  Priest,  and  were  subject,  under  penalty  of 
death,  to  the  authority  of  the  Great  Sanhedrim 
at  Jerusalem. 

>  "St.  Paul"  I.  68. 


/ 


46 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.P.  .17. 


Saul,  therefore,  "hrcathing  out  threatcnings 
and  slaughter  against  the  diseiples  of  the  Lord, 
went  unto  the  High  Priest,  and  desired  of  him 
letters  to  Damascus  to  the  synaifoffues  that  if 
he  found  any  of  this  Avay,  whether  they  were 
men  or  women,  he  miaht  brinof  them  hound  to 
Jerusalem;"  and,  having  received  the  letters, 
permitted  nothing  to  detain  him,  but  hurried 
away  for  a  long,  hot  journey  in  "midsummer"^ 
uj)  through  Galilee  and  Samaria,  and  across 
over  the  tedious  desert  roads  to  the  eastern 
slopes  of  Anti-Lebanon.  He  is  not  alone. 
Soldiers  and  servants,  some  on  horseback,  some 
on  foot,  v/ould  be  the  natural  attendants  of  such 
a  personage,  sent  out  from  the  High  Priest  on 
an  embassy  like  this. 

Who  can  tell  what  Saul's  thoughts  were 
during  this  week  ?  The  fancy  may  be  correct 
which'  pictures  him  now  away  from  the  heat  and 
excitement  of  his  cruel  work,  driven  by  the 
length  of  the  journey  into  a  comparative  soli- 
tude and  leisure  to  think  about  what  he  was 
doing,  —  "  forced  to  go  up  into  the  dark  tribunal 
of  his  own  conscience  and  set  himself  before 
himself,"  ^  —  until  he  was  filled  with  doubts  and 
misgivings  as  to  whether  he  was  right  or  wrong 
in  persecuting  with  such  cruel  severity  such 
people  as  the  Christians  were.    Tf  these  were  his 


1  Lewin,  i.  48. 


2  Farrar,  chap.  x. 


J. 


Mt.  31.] 


Saul's  conversion. 


m 


*it 


thoughts  during  the  journey  to  Damascus,  they 
would  only  he  the  natural  antecedents  of  the 
startling  event  which  took  place  as  he  came 
near  the  journey's  end. 

The  siffht  of  his  destination  rouses  all  the 
energy  of  the  inquisitor.  The  cavalcade  is  push- 
ing forward,  even  in  the  intense  heat  of  noon, 
at  an  hour  when  the  traveller  in  the  East  is 
accustomed  to  spread  his  tent  and  seek  shelter 
from  the  scorching  sun.  No  rest  nor  halting 
for  zealous  Saul  so  near  his  work.  You  can 
almost  see  him  urging  to  its  utmost  speed  his 
jaded  horse,  bending  forward  in  the  saddle  with 
his  eyes  intent  upon  yonder  beautiful  city,  the 
home  of  Christians  treml)ling  because  they  have 
heard  of  his  coming,  —  silent,  eager,  exulting, 
—  when  "suddenly  there  shined  round  about 
him  a  light  from  heaven,"  "  above  the  brightness 
of  the  sun."  Saul  is  blinded  and  falls  to  the 
ground,  and  lying  there  he  hears  a  heavenly 
voice  tilled  with  sweetly-pleading  reproof,  say- 
ing to  him,  "  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou 
me?"  In  his  amazement  he  only  asks,  "Who 
art  thou.  Lord?  "  and  waits  listening  if  he  may 
hear  another  w^ord  from  that  heart-conquering 
voice.  And  the  Lord  said,  "  I  am  Jesus,  whom 
thou  persecutest."  Trembling  and  amazed  he 
asks  humbly,  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me 
do  ? "     "  Arise  and  enter  into  the   city,  and  it 


48 


LIFE    OF    PAUL 


lA.D.  37. 


shiiU  l)(^  told  tlici;  what  tlioii  must  do."'  See 
yuul  now  I  He  whose  wlioUi  ljein«r,  a  litth'  whiU; 
ugo,  was  urij^cd  on  to  persecute  the  t'()lh)wer.s 
of  this  fJesUN,  ri>e>one  of  his  followers  himself. 
"  He  had  fallen  a  proud,  intolerant,  perseeuting 
Jew ;  he  rose  u  humble,  broken-hearted,  peni- 
tent Christian." 

When  Saul  rose  from  the  ground  to  whieh  he 
hud  been  thrown  by  the  sudden  shock  of  the 
marvellous  light  from  heaven,  he  eould  see 
nothing.  And  his  blindness  made  him  helpless. 
The  strong  man  became  a  child.  'I'he  pride  of 
this  very  proud  Pharisee  had  nothing  to  lean 
against.  He,  the  leader  of  the  compan}',  with 
letters  in  the  inner  i)oeket  of  his  robe  from  the 
High  P)'  est,  authorizing  him  to  hunt  't  and 
arrest  Christians  in  Damascus,  came  to  .^  gate 
of  the  city  an  object  of  pity  to  all  who  saw  him  ; 
for  "they  led  him  by  the  hand,"  and  on  they 
went  through  the  avenue,  —  some  one  leading 
the  horse  on  which  he  had  ridden,  some  one 
leading  Saul, — observed  by  every  passer-by, 
until  they  came  to   "the  house  of  Judas." 

This,  one  would  think,  must  have  ])een  keenly 
humiliating  to  Saul.  Hour  after  hour  passes. 
In  all  probability  the  best  physician  in  Damas- 

1  There  are  three  accounts  of  Saul's  conversion :  1.  Luke's 
simi)lc  story,  Acts  i.\,  2.  Paul's  luii-rative  in  the  Toniple-court  in 
Jerusalem,  Acts  xxii.  3.  His  statement  before  Festus  and  Agrippa 
iu  Civjsarca,  Acts  xxv. 


JET.  ,11.1 


!i5ACLS    rOWEHSION. 


40 


-• 


cus  is   suninionod :    but   his    (li;iirn(».is    reveals 

n()tliin<r,  and  his  iiostnmis   produce    no    eftect. 

Hut,    unless  we   niisnppreheud   the   feelinirs   of 

Saul  at  this  time,  tliere  was  sonietiiinir  trouhiiuir 

him  even  more  than  tlu;  t'aet  of  his  heinir  hlind. 

He  was,  before  all  else,  a  rf^h't/ioHs  man.      He 

believed  in  Ciod,  and  had  l)een  in  the  habit  of 

prayinof,  and  it  was  the  chief  aim  of  his  life  to 

serve  God  in  the  best  wav.     And  he  thought  he 

had    been   servinti:  God  ;  but    verv   suddenlv  a 

new  light  has  broken  in  upon  him,  an<l  lo  !  all 

his  past  life  is  wrong,  —  not  only  wrong,  but 

desperately  wicked  I    He  wonders  how  he  could 

have    made    such    a    mistake.     He   recalls   the 

words  of  tlic  prophets,  and  each  new  sentence 

makes  it  plainer  that  this  Jesus  must  have  been 

the  promised  Messiah.     He  recollects  the  argu-  '^~~ 

ment  of   Stephen,  and  goes  over    it    again    in  -r/v>\.^r.  c^. 

detail.    He  remembers  the  face,  the  pra3'er,  the      ,-  ^ 

patience  of  the  youthful  martyr  :  and  the  burden 

of  condemnation   grows    still    heavier.      What 

can  this  blindness  be  but  the  judgment  of  God? 

We  are  not  surprised  that   he    takes  no  food. 

As   the  hours   of  bitter   memorv  drai;   on,    he 

does  not    know    but    something   more    terrible 

than  blindness  may  be  hanging  over  him.     He 

betakes  himself  to  prayer  ;  and  He  who  answers 

prayer  mercifully  revealed  to  Saul's  inner  sight    • 

a  vision  of  what  was  soon  actuallv  to  occur. 


50 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  37. 


He  seemed  to  see  u  stranger  coming  into  the 
room  wliere  he  was,  and  bv  the  touch  of  his 
hand  restorinoj  his  lost  siiiht. 

There  was  a  disciple  of  Jesus  in  Damascus 
named  Ananias.  He  too  was  a  Jew.  AVhether 
he  was  a  native  of  Damascus,  and  had  been  con- 
verted there,  or,  because  he  had  l)ecome  a  fol- 
lower of  Christ,  had  been  oldiged  to  lind  refuge 
in  that  distant  city,  we  do  not  know.  What 
his  subsequent  histor}^  was,  we  arc  equally  un- 
able to  say.  He  is  only  led  out  of  o])scurity  to 
perform  one  signal  act,  and  then  steps  back 
airain  to  oe  seen  no  more.' 

Two  nights  have  passed  since  Saul  was  led 
blind  into  the  house  of  Judas ;  and  on  the  third 
day,  while  he  is  praying  there,  the  Lord  speaks 
to  Ananias,  telling  him  of  the  vision  that  had 
been  oiyen  lo  Saul,  and  commanding  him  to  *>o 
and  make  the  vision  real.  Ananias  had  heard  of 
Saul  and  of  his  purpose  in  coming  to  Damascus. 
It  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  he  hesitated  to 
put  himself  within  reach  of  one  whose  intentions 
were  so  bloody  ;  but  the  command  is  urgent,  and 
with  the  command  there  is  an  assurance  that  this 


1  Not  Pctci';  or  James,  or  John,  no  ^n'cat  and  eminent  apostle 
need  be  sent  for  to  instruct  the  learned  and  hijrhly  talented  Saul; 
but  Ananias,  some  poor,  simple-hearted  Christian,  of  whom  the 
divine  word  has  never  before  made  mention,  is  fully  sufficient,  in 
God's  hand,  to  teach  this  most  richly-endowed  of  all  the  early  con- 
verts. —  Blunt  :  ♦'  History  of  St.  Paul,"  39. 


I 

/) 


'A- 


„Jm' 


ff  *• 


Vo 


JET.  31.] 


Saul's  conversion. 


53 


same  persecutor  is  one  of  the  Lord's  chosen,  to 
proclaim  His  name  to  the  Gentiles  and  kings, 
and  even  to  the  Jews.  So  Ananias  found  his 
way  through  the  crooked  lanes  of  the  city,  out 
upon  the  broad  open  avenue,  and  coming  to  the 
house  of  Judas,  asked  if  there  was  one  there 
called  Saul  from  Tarsus.  This  stranger  was 
brought  to  Saul,  and  laying  his  hands  upon  the 
blind  man's  head,  called  him  "  Brother  Saul." 
That  one  word  must  have  sounded  very  sweet 
to  Saul ;  for  he  was  friendless  now  in  Da- 
mascus, and  everywhere  else.  His  companions 
on  the  journey  had  not  seen  Jesus  in  the  way, 
and  could  not  sympathize  with  Saul  in  the  change 
of  mind  and  purpose  which  he  had  experienced  ; 
and  what  would  those  who  knew  him  in  Jeru- 
salem say  when  they  heard  that  he  had  become 
a  follower  of  Jesus?  Ananias  has  more  to  say  : 
"  The  Lord,  even  Jesus,  who  appeared  unto  thee 
in  the  way  which  thou  earnest,  hath  sent  me,  that 
thou  mayest  receive  thy  sight,  and  be  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost."  Sight  and  more  !  Immedi- 
ately Saul  lifted  his  eyes,  and  could  see.  There 
stood  the  Ananias  of  his  vision.  Saul  was  filled 
with  gladness,  because  he  now  knew  that  the 
Lord  Jesus  loved  him.  The  old  husk  of  relig- 
ious formalism  was  broken  and  thrown  away ; 
but  he  had  in  its  place  a  Divine  Person,  whose 
voice   he   had    heard    calling    him    by    name. 


'•m"^  iy*»ii.r 


f'^ 


> 


/ 


/ 


54 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  37. 


Henceforth  it  should  be  his  whole  purpose  to 
serve  this  new  Master.  The  zeal  which  had 
been  exerted  against  Jesus  and  His  followers 
shall  from  this  time  spend  itself  in  making  His 
name  known,  and  in  calling  upon  men  to  be- 
lieve on  Him.  Saul  at  once  submitted  himself  to 
the  initiatory  rite  of  Christian  discipleship,  and 
the  waters  of  the  Abana  were  sanctified  anew 
by  a  use  to  which  no  dou})t  they  had  already 
often  been  put.  Then  the  three  days'  fast  was 
broken  by  a  meal  at  which  all  were  glad. 
-/  We  have  the  new  man  before  us  now,  —  Saul, 
/  the  Christian  ;  and  he  is  a  much  more  interesting 
character.  To  all  the  strength  and  force  and 
impetuosity  of  his  natural  disposition  Were  has 
been  added  an  ardent  personal  love.  All  his 
nature  is  tempered  by  it.  Before  he  was  proud. 
Now  he  is  humble.  Before  he  was  revengeful. 
Now  his  heart  is  overflowing  with  forgiveness. 
Before  he  lived  for  himself.  Now  he  is  to  live 
for  his  fellow-men.  Before  he  sought  power 
and  renown.  Now  he  is  seeking  to  glorify 
Christ. 

At  once  we  find  him,  where  Stephen  was  a  few 
months  l)efore,  in  the  synagogues  preaching  to 
his  own  people,  the  Jews  ;  and  this  is  his  theme, 
as  it  was  of  all  the  apostles,  "Jesus,  the  Son  of 
God,  died  for  our  sins  and  rose  from  the  dead." 
How  those  Jews  at  Damascus  must  have  won- 


^^ 


.V. 


►^ 


■  1 


^^ 


4- 


JET.  31.] 


Saul's  conversion. 


55 


(lercd,  — they  who  had  never  had  a  thought  or 
experienced  a  heart-throb  outside  the  narrow 
limits  of  their  law  and  tradition,  and  who  had 
looked  upon  Saul  as  one  like  themselves ;  how 
amazed  they  must  have  been  to  see  the  Hame 
burst  from  :  heart  which  they  supposed  was  as 
cold  as  their  own,  toward  all  new  things  in 
religion !  At  first  they  would  not  know  what 
it  meant.  Might  not  this  be  some  stealthy 
masquerade,  by  which  cunning  Saul  would 
draw  the  Christians  about  him  only  to  destroy 
them  the  more  easily?  No,  —  that  cannot  be. 
He  is  too  intensely  in  earnest.  He  must  mean 
what  he  says.  They  see  the  man  whom  they 
had  expected  to  be  their  champion  transformed 
into  a  stronger  and  more  positive  Christian  than 
any  they  had  ever  met  before. 

But  Saul's  preaching  in  Damascus  at  this  time 
could  not  have  continued  very  long.  Only  for 
a  little  while  did  he  bear  testimony  to  the  fact 
that  he  had  become  a  follower  of  the  Lord 
Jesus ;  for  be  is  not  ready  yet  to  enter  upon 
the  work  of  an  apostle. 


:> 


— ^ 


sKa 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  CONVERT'S   FIRST  SIX  YEARS. 

•'  Paul  learnt  more  in  Arabia  tlian  ever  he  had  learnt  at  the  feet 
of  Gamaliel.  None  can  teach  like  (tocI;  and  all  who  will  learn  of 
him  must  be  alone  with  him.  'In  the  desert  God  will  teach 
thee."'  — C.  H.  M. 

'*  He  who  would  not  become  a  merchantman,  trafficking  with 
Heaven'?  richest  gift  in  a  fatal,  soul-ensnaring  usury,  will  often 
withdraw  from  the  crowd,  as  did  our  blessed  Master ;  will  often, 
like  Paul,  the  teacher  of  all  love's  deepest  lessons,  retire  from  the 
souls  he  ministers  to  for  a  season,  so  that  he  may  abide  with  thern 
forever."  — DoKA  Gheenvvell. 

XTTE  come  now  to  a  period  in  Saul's  life 
'  "  about  which  there  is  room  for  differences 
of  opinion.  If  we  were  to  read  only,  the  ac- 
count in  the  ninth  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  we  might  think  that  very  soon  after 
his  conversion,  the  Jews  in  Damascus  were  ex- 
cited by  his  preaching,  and  decided  to  arrest 
and  put  him  to  death,  and  that  thereupon  he 
fled  directly  to  Jerusalem.  But  if  we  turn  to 
one  of  the  letters  which  he  wrote  a  number  of 
years  afterward,  namely,  the  Epistle  to  the  Gala- 
tians  (i.  17-18),  we  learn  that  he  "  went  into 
Arabia,"  came  back  to  Damascus,  and  that  it 
was  "  three  years  "  before  he  was  in  Jerusalem 
56 


'\ 


f 


iET.32.]     THE   CONVERTS    FIRST    8IX    YEARS. 


57 


again.  We  do  not  know  why  Luke,  the  writer 
of  the  ActSf  omitted  this  from  his  account  of 
Saul's  life ;  but  we  will  be  perfectly  safe  in  in- 
serting it,  on  Saul's  own  authority,  at  the  pliu'e 
where  it  belongs. 

We  see  Saul,  then,  leaving  the  beautiful  city 
of  Damascus,  where  such  a  change  had  passed 
over  his  life,  and  making  his  way  into  Arabia. 
How  far  did  he  go?  We  cannot  tell.  Pos- 
sibly only  out  into  that  lonely  waste,  not  many 
days'  journey  to  the  southeast  of  Damascus, 
where  he  would  be  safe  from  his  new  enemies, 
and  at  the  same  time  would  find  undisturbed 
retirement  for  retlection  and  meditation.  Pos- 
sibly he  may  have  been  impelled  away  to  the 
south,  across  many  leagues  of  uninhabited  and 
inhospitable  desert,  to  the  barren  ridges  and 
gloomy  defiles  of  Sinai.  Here  the  law  was 
given  to  Moses.  Hither  Elijah  fled  to  be  taught 
of  God,  by  "the  still,  small  voice."  Is  it  too 
presumptuous  to  suppose  that  Saul,  the  Great 
Apostle  of  the  Xew  Dispensation,  might  also 
seek  this  ma<»:nificent  and  awful  sanctuarv  to 
learn  laore  clearly,  b}^  prayer  and  meditation, 
God's  purposes  for  him? 

Nor  are  we  able  to  decide  with  certainty  how 
long  a  time  Saul  was  nwav  in  Arabia.  Three 
years  intervno  botwoon  his  conversion  and  his 
return  to  .Jerusalem  ;  an. I  it  Is  probable  that  but 


^-,. 


r 


/ 


/ 


!      ■  I 


58 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  38. 


11  small  part  of  this  period  was  spent  in  Damas- 
cus. When,  however,  he  returns  to  this  city 
again,  he  is  stronger  an<l  more  ])ositive  tlian  ever 
in  his  attitude  as  a  Christian.  For  some  months 
probably  he  continued  to  i)reach  and  teach  tho 
people  about  Jesus.  His  reasoning  became  more 
and  more  conclusive.  There  was  no  one  al)le  to 
stand  aijainst  the  flood  of  his  enthusiastic  ar^u- 
ment  and  eloquence.  The  most  learned  Scribes 
were  no  match  for  him.  But  defeat  of  this  kind 
will  ever  be  more  exasperating  than  convincing 
to  cold,  hjird  hearts  ;  and  it  was  not  long  Ijefore 
it  began  to  be  whispered  about  in  the  higher 
circles  of  Jewish  society  in  Damascus,  "  This 
man  is  destroying  the  religion  of  the  fathers. 
Is  he  not  worthy  of  death  ? "  And  at  last  the 
lesser  Sanhedrim  (which  was  the  criminal  court 
in  all  Jewish  connnunities  away  from  Jerusalem) 
was  called  together,  and,  after  short  consultation, 
voted  to  arrest  Saul,  and  put  him  to  death. 

Saul  is  now  almost  thirty-five  years  old,  in  the 
very  prime  of  life.  It  may  seem  to  many  not 
a  little  remarkable  that  he  should  have  made 
the  choice  which  he  did,  —  abandoning  all  those 
prospects  of  advancement  and  success  and  popu- 
larity, which  are  so  dear  to  the  hearts  of  strong 
and  active  young  men,  to  accept  the  compan- 
ionship of  a  small  and  despised  sect,  and  to 
incur  the  deadly  enmity  of  his  old  friends,  who 


r 


^ 


r 


JET.  35.]    THE  CONVERTS   FIRST   SIX    YEARS. 


59 


1 


were  still  in  power.  But  it  only  shows  how 
strong  tin  intluencc  love  for  Christ  may  exert. 
Saul  loved  Jesus,  and  he  could  not  love  Ilini 
and  his  old  pursuits  too.  He  must  make  a 
choice,  and  so  he  chose,  as  another  great 
man  did,  "rather  to  suffer  affliction  with  the 
people  of  God,  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of 
sin.'"^  From  this  time  to  his  death  —  thirty'^ 
years  —  Saul  labored  continually  for  one  object, 
to  make  Christ  known  ;  and  did  it  in  the  face 
of  incessant  opposition  ;  for  the  spirit  of  Jewish^ 
hatred  pursued  him  everywhere,  until  at  last, 
but  not  before  his  Avork  was  finished,  it  com- 
passed his  death  in  martyrdom. 

This  first  sentence  of  death  made  it  necessary 
for  Saul  to  fiy  from  Damascus.  Through  some 
friend  he  had  heard  that  the  warrant  had  been 
issued  for  his  arrest.  No  doubt  he  was  willing, 
if  need  be,  to  die  for  Christ's  sake ;  but  the 
other  disciples  did  not  think  it  at  all  necessary 
that  he  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies, 
and  they  persuaded  him,  if  possible,  to  leave 
the  city.  Upon  the  representation  of  the  Jews 
to  the  authorities  that  Saul  was  a  disturber  of 
the  peace,  guards  had  been  set  at  all  the  gates, 
so  that  no  one  might  go  out  of  the  city  unchal- 
lenged. There  was  another  way,  however,  to  get 
out  of  Damascus. 

•  1  Heb.  xi.  25. 


h 


I      f 


■K3is 


;i 


60 


LIFE   OF    PAUL. 


[A.D.  41. 


The  high  wall,  which  in  Saul's  day  sur- 
rounded the  city,  is  still  standing,  though  par- 
tially in  ruins.  Close  against  this  wall  some 
of  the  houses  of  the  city  were  built,  many  of 
them  reaching  al)ove  the  wall,  and  some  of  them 
having  bay-windows  projecting  over  it.  Through 
such  a  window,  after  dark,  w  hen  all  was  still  and 
there  was  no  one  to  observe  his  escape,  Saul's 
friends  put  him  into  a  basket  and  lowered  him 
to  the  ground  outside  the  wall. 

We  can  imagine  the  Christian  disciples  gath- 
ered in  that  upper  room  waiting  for  the  hour 
when  it  would  be  safe  to  put  Saul  out.  Ana- 
nias is  there.  Some  one  is  watching  at  the 
window  to  see  when  the  guard  is  at  a  safe  dis- 
tance. They  are  all  talking  hastily  and  eagerly 
together,  though  scarcely  a])ove  a  whisper. 
What  will  the  Jews  say  when  they  discover  that 
Saul  has  escaped?  What  if  they  should  pur- 
sue and  catch  him  on  the  morrow  ?  Which  way 
shall  he  go?  Saul  wants  to  see  Peter,  and  for 
that  reason  decides  to  go  directly  to  Jerusalem. 

It  was  at  noon-day  that  Saul,  —  Rabbi, 
Pharisee,  Persecutor,  —  on  horseback,  with  a 
considerable  retinue,  had  approached  Damas- 
cus. He  leaves  it  under  cover  of  night,  alone 
and  on  foot,  creeping  away  condemned,  as  a 
criminal  worthv  of  death,  bv  that  same  law 
which  before  he  had  so  zealously  obeyed. 


r 


-L 


I. 


•f 


.*:x.  35.J    THE  CUNVEKTJ5    F1U«T    SIX    YEARS. 


61 


i 


T 


The  most  direct  roa  ^  to  Jeriisjilein  must  have 
been  the  one  l)y  which  Saul  went  to  Djimascus. 
Pickiuij:  his  way,  then,  from  tlic  i)hicc  where  he 
v/:i«  let  down  to  the  ground,  across  the  gardens 
and  orchards  and  tields,  perhai).s  leai)ing  or 
wading  some  of  those  irrigating  canals  that  ran 
all  about  the  city,  he  would  be  likely,  as  «oon 
as  it  was  safe,  to  strike  the  hi<diwav.  Before 
dawn  he  was  climbing  the  slopes  of  Anti-Lebanon, 
and  when  the  sun  rose  over  Damascus  no  doubt 
he  turned  to  take  a  farewell  look  at  the  city, 
"  decked  in  its  robes  of  shining  green,"  which 
had  been  to  him  the  scene  of  the  beijinniniif  of 
a  new  life,  and  almost  the  place  of  his  death. 

But  we  must  not  let  inia"fi nation  lin2:er  too  lonff 
with  Saul  on  this  journey.  We  do  not  know  what 
regretful  memories  ciune  up  as  he  retracted  the 
steps  he  had  taken  three  years  before  ;  and,  in- 
deed, we  may  believe  that  they  did  not  occupy 
his  thoughts  very  much.  They  must  have  been 
crowded  out  by  the  stirring  ho}K>s  and  eager 
purposes  with  which  his  devotion  to  Christ  had 
tilled  his  mind.  When  he  came  near  to  Jeru- 
salem, though,  the  recollections  of  the  old  asso- 
ciations must  have  swept  in  upon  him ;  for 
Saul  had  a  warm  heart,  and  the  ties  of  friend- 
ship are  always  dear  to  such.  Ilis  old  com- 
panions, Scribes  and  Pharisees  ;  the  High  Priest, 
whose  letters   he  carried  awav  with  him;    his 


I  r 


.  M 


G2 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  41. 


beloved  and  now  vencral)lo  teacher,  Gamaliel, 
—  what  would  they  all  say  of  him  ?  They  would 
despise  him,  of  course,  as  a  turncoat ;  and  they 
would  kill  him,  if  they  could.  This  he  knew 
well  enough.  But  even  if  they  did  desi)ise 
him,  there  were  some  others  in  Jerusalem  who 
would  welcome  him.  The  disciples  of  Christ 
there  would  receive  him  as  a  brother.  So,  back 
to  the  city  of  his  fathers'  God  he  comes,  past  the 
place  where  Jesus  was  crucitied,  and  the  spot 
where  Stephen  was  stoned,  and  into  the  streets 
with  which  he  was  so  familiar.  His  steps  do 
not  turn  toward  the  Temple.  He  is  looking  for 
Peter.  He  inquires  of  one  and  another.  He 
attempts  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  some 
who  he  knows  are  followers  of  Christ,  but 
they  are  all  afraid  of  him ;  and  even,  when  he 
tells  them  that  he  has  become  a  disciple  him- 
self, they  wiU  not  believe  him.  At  length 
he  found  his  oid  friend  and  school-fellow,  Bar- 
nabas, who  had  been  a  disciple  of  Christ  for 
several  years,  and  who  had  given  his  money 
generously  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel.  He, 
knowing  that  Saul  could  not  be  a  hypocrite, 
listened  with  joy  to  the  story  of  his  conversion, 
and  at  once  took  him  to  the  house  of  Peter, 
who  at  that  time  was  pastor  of  the  church  at 
Jerusalem,^  and  who,  with  his  generous,  enthu- 

1  "  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,"  iii.  2451. 


I 


t 


'l\ 


i 


1 


JET.  35.]     THE  CONVERTS    FIRST   SIX    YEARS. 


63 


.n 


siastic  disposition,  welcomed  Saul  as  his  guest. 
Fifteen  short  days  Saul  spent  here.  He  met 
James,  who  seems  to  have  been  the  onlv  other 
apostle  in  Jerusalem  at  this  time  ;  hut  most  of 
the  time  was  spent  with  Peter.  It  would  he  a 
delight  to  hear  from  Peter  about  Jesus ;  for 
Peter  had  been  with  Ilim  so  nmch.  Prol)ably 
during  this  visit  Saul  acquired  most  of  that 
familiaritv  with  the  tcaehino^s  of  Jesus,  which 
afterward  made  his  own  preaching  and  writing 
so  clearly  a  repetition  and  development  of  what 
Jesus  himself  had  said. 

Here,  though,  as  in  Damascus  the  Sabbath 
found  Saul  in  the  synagogues.  "  The  same  zeal 
which  had  caused  his  voice  to  be  heard  in  the 
Hellenistic  synagogues  in  the  persecution  against 
Stephen  now  led  Saul  in  the  same  sj-^nagogues 
to  declare,  fearlessly,  his  adherence  to  Stephen's 
cause.  The  same  fury  which  had  caused  the 
murder  of  Stephen  now  brought  the  murderer 
of  Stephen  to  the  verge  of  assassination."^ 
The  Jews  would  not  let  Saul  live  and  preach 
Christ.  His  influence  was  too  great.  They 
could  endure  James,  for  he  was  unenthusiastic. 
They  would  let  Peter  preach,  for  he  belonged 
to  the  common  people,  and  was  uneducated ; 
but  Saul  had  been  an  aristocrat,  and  was  ac- 
quainted by  education  with  the  strength  and 

1  Howson  :  '•  St.  Paul,"  l.  103. 


i 


64 


LIFE   OF  PAUL. 


LA.D.  41. 


weakness  of  Judaism.  Here  was  a  knight  with 
trenchant  sword,  who  knew  how  to  wield  his 
sword,  and  who  also  was  acquainted  with  every 
flaw  in  his  opponent's  armor.  Such  a  knight 
must  not  l)e  allowed  in  tlic  lists.  ''They  went 
about  to  slay  him." 

Saul  was  not  easily  driven  from  a  work  which 
he  earnestly  wanted  to  do.  He  had  persecuted 
the  disciples  of  Christ  before  in  Jerusalem,  and 
he  was  anxious  now  to  do  all  he  could  for  their 
cause.  But  the  Lord's  ways  arc  not  always 
man's  ways,'  and  Saul  would  rather  do  what  the 
Lord  wanted  him  to  than  to  follow  out  his  own 
inclinations.  In  a  speech  that  he  made  twenty 
years  afterward,^  while  standing  on  the  castle 
stairs  in  the  Temple-court,  he  related  how  he 
came  to  leave  Jerusalem  on  this  occasion.  He 
was  praying  in  the  Temple,  —  probably  that  he 
might  leain  what  his  next  step  ought  to  be. 
While  praying,  he  says,  he  fell  into  a  trance, 
and  the  Lord  spoke  to  him :  "Make  haste ; 
leave  Jerusalem ;  the  people  here  will  not  be- 
lieve what  you  have  to  say."  But  he  still 
wanted  to  remain,  and  he  parleyed  with  the 
divine  comnuind   until  it  was   repeated  briefly 

'  Very  different  arc  the  intentions  of  God  respcctinjr  our  future 
disposal  from  the  intentions  cf  ourselves  and  our  friends.  Saul, 
perhaps,  expected  to  spend  many  years  at  Jonisalcm  ;  the  Almiphty 
had  appointnl  lliat  lie  shouM  ronr.iin  tlicre  fiftci'ii  day-.  —  Hn'NT: 
"  Histoiy  of  St.  Paul,"  71.  *  Act?*  xxii. 


•(It 


MT.Xi.]     THE   CONVERT*S    FIRST    SIX    YEARS. 


c,h 


and  emphatically.  "Go  I  for  I  will  send  thoe 
far  iiwiiy  to  the  Gentiles."  Then  he  was  per- 
suaded. Some  of  the  Christian  brethren  went 
with  him  down  to  ('{vsarea,  and  saw  him  on 
hoard  ship  for  his  native  city,  Tarsus,  where, 
for  the  present,  we  must  leave  him. 


Jj 


I 

i4 


».•. 


f 


■      K 


CHAPTER  V. 


ANTIOCII     OF     SYIUA. 

"  It  is  probal)lc  that  no  popuhitions  have  ever  been  move 
abandoned  than  those  of  Oriental  Oreek  cities  under  the  Roman 
Empire  ;  and  of  these  cities  Antiocii  was  the  greatest  and  the 
worst."  — J,  S.  IIowsoN. 

"  O  thou,  resort  and  mart  of  all  the  earth, 
Chequer'd  with  .all  complexions  of  mankind, 
And  spotted  with  all  crimes;  in  which  I  see 
Much  that  I  love,  and  more  thpt  I  admire,  4 

And  all  that  I  abhor;  thou  freckled  fair, 
That  pleases  and  yet  shocks  nic,  I  can  lanK'h 
And  I  can  weep,  can  hope  and  can  dc>pond, 
Feel  wrath  and  pity,  when  I  think  on  tiiee !  " 

\Vm.  CoWPER. 

AVTHILE    S;iul    is   jit   Tarsus   we   turn   our 
*  *  fuees  toward   another  city,  Antioch,   the 
capital  of  Syria. 

In  the  snowy  ravines  of  that  same  mountain 
ranije  of  Anti-Lebanon  in  which  the  Abana  of 
Damascus  takes  its  rise  we  find  the  sources  of 
another  river,  on  whose  banks  we  trace  the 
footsteps  of  the  great  Apostle.  This  river,  the 
Orontes,  runs  almost  due  north  for  two  hundred 
miles,  until,  near  that  analc  where  the  northern 
and  eastern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  meet, 
it  makes  an  abri^  turn  around  Mount  Sil^ius, 


II 


Mt.  350 


ANTIOCH    OF    SYRIA. 


67 


an 
he 


j^ 


and  fulls  rapidly  in  a  southwesterly  direction 
to  the  sea.  There  is  an  old  fal)le  that  the  bed 
of  this  river  was  formed  by  the  writhing  of 
the  snake-legged  giant,  Tjphon,  when  he  was 
stmck  with  a  thunderbolt  by  Jupiter,  and  that 
the  source  of  the  river  in  the  Anti-Lel)anon  is 
the  hok  through  which  Typhon  escaped  into  the 
earth.  Sixteen  miles  from  the  Mediterranean, 
the  Orontes  is  a  river  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  feet  wide.  At  this  point  its  course  is 
through  a  fertile  valley,  which  on  the  south 
side  rises  tirst  gradually,  but  soon  very  sharply, 
to  the  mountain  Silpius,  the  overhanging  crests 
of  which  are  from  one  to  two  miles  from  the 
river.  In  this  vallev.  between  the  mountain 
and  the  river,  and  hugging  closely  the  low  bank, 
is  Antakieh,  "  a  shrunken  and  miserable  place," 
studded  "with  s(|ualid  hovels  of  mud  and  straw." 
Mr.  Bavard  Tavlor  visited  Antakieh  in  June, 
185i.  He  had  ))een  skirting  the  eastern  coast 
vi  the  Mediterranejui  in  a  Syrian  yacht ;  and 
alqppin^  at  Suediali  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Orontes,  rode  up  to  the  ancient  capital.  His 
desi^ription  of  that  ride  is  so  vivid  that  it  almost 
transports  the  reader  to  the  bank  of  the  rippling 
river,  and  Trav^^she:?  him  with  the  sights  and 
sounds  :uid  od*)r8  of  another  paradise ;  while 
tile  simgle  realistic  toucli  with  which  it  closes 
sets  a?s  in  ti*e  heart  of  the  Turkish  town. 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  41. 


I  i« 


I 


"Our  way  was  ovorlmni^  witli  hedges  of 
poniegnmate,  myrtle,  oleander  and  white  rose, 
in  blossom,  and  occasionally  with  (juince,  fig, 
and  carol )-trees,  laced  together  with  grape-vines 
in  frai>:rant  bloom.  Sometimes  this  wilderness 
of  color  and  odor  met  above  our  heads  and 
made  a  twilight ;  then  it  opened  into  long, 
dazzling,  sun-bright  vistas,  where  the  hues  of 
the  oleander,  pomegranate  and  white  rose  made 
the  eye  wink  with  their  gorgeous  profusion. 
The  mountains  we  crossed  were  covered  with 
thickets  of  myrtle,  mastic,  da})hne  and  arbutus, 
and  all  the  valleys  and  sloping  meads  w^aved 
with  fig,  nudberry  and  olive-trees.  Looking 
towards  th<»  sea,  the  valley  broadened  out  be- 
tween mountain  ranges  whose  summits  were 
lost  in  the  clouds.  Though  the  soil  was  not  so 
rich  as  in  Palestine,  the  general  aspect  of  the 
country  was  Tnu<h  wilder  and  more  luxuriant. 

"So,  by  this  glorious  scene,  over  the  myrtled 
hills  and  d-^wn  into  valleys,  whose  l)ed  was  one 
hue  of  rose  from  the  blossoming  oleanders,  we 
travelled  for  fivt^  hours,  crossing  the  low  range 
of  hills  through  \\  liiv'h  the  Orontes  forces  his  way 
to  the  sea.  At  last  we  reached  a  height  over- 
looking the  vallc\  of  the  river,  and  saw  in  the 
east,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain-chain,  the  long 
line  of  barracks  built  by  Ibrahim  Pasha  for  the 
defence  of  Antioch.     Behind  them  the  ancient 


Mr.  38] 


ANTIOCH   OF   SYRIA. 


69 


i  I 


wall  of  the  city  clomb  the  mountains,  whose 
crest  it  followed  to  the  last  peak  of  the  chain. 
From  the  next  hill  we  saw  the  city,  —  a  large 
extent  of  one-story  houses  with  tiled  roofs, 
surrounded  with  gardens  and  half  buried  in  the 
foliage  of  sycamores.  It  extends  from  the 
river  Orontes,  which  washes  its  walls,  up  the 
slope  of  the  mountain  to  the  crags  of  gray  rock 
which  overhang  it.  We  ci'ossed  the  river  by  a 
massive  old  bridge,  and  entered  the  town. 
Ridins:  alon^r  the  rills  of  filth  which  traverse 
the  streets,  forming  their  central  avenues,  we 
passed  through  several  lines  of  bazaars  to  a 
large  and  dreary-looking  khan,  the  keeper  of 
which  gave  us  the  best  vacant  chamber, — a 
narrow  place,  full  of  fleas."' 

This  Antakieh,  then,  is  only  another  low, 
flat-roofed,  filthy  Oriental  town,  in  which  five  or 
six  thousand  children  of  the  sun  spend  their 
lazy  days  under  the  bright  Syrian  sky,  the  nar- 
row streets  of  which  are  the  common  lounginff- 
place  of  ba))ies,  beggars,  dogs,  and  donkeys. 
To  be  sure,  it  is  surrounded  with  scenery  pleas- 
ant to  look  upon,  and  the  soil  is  good.  Anta- 
kieh, however,  produces  almost  nothing  but  a 
small  quantity  of  indifferent  leather,  some  to- 
bacco, and  a  few  nmlberry-trees.  But  the  An- 
tioch    of  the  first   Christian   century   was   the 

1  *•  The  Lauds  of  the  Saracens,"  chap.  xiv. 


\! 


li 


70 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  41. 


second,  and  almost  the  third,  city  of  the  world 
for  the  wealth  of  its  citizens,  the  magnificence 
of  its  architecture,  its  social,  intellectual,  and 
political  standing.  It  was  one  of  the  many 
cities  founded  by  that  Seleucus  Nicator  who, 
about  300  B.  C,  became  the  king  of  Syria,  and 
established  the  dynasty,  which,  from  that  time 
to  its  close,  is  known  by  his  name,  — the  Seleu- 
cidiB.  This  prince  must  have  had  a  passion  for 
building  cities.  He  l)uilt  six  Laodiceas,  and 
named  them  in  honor  of  his  mother  ;  one  Apamea, 
in  honor  of  his  wife  ;  nine  Seleucias  to  bear  his 
own  name  to  posterity  ;  and  sixteen  Antiochs  to 
immortalize  the  name  of  his  father.  Two  of  these 
Antiochs  of  Seleucus  occupy  places  in  the  career 
of  Saul ;  but  this  one  on  the  Orontes  far  sur- 
passed all  the  others.  From  the  ])eginning  its 
growth  was  rapid.  This  was  due  at  first, 
no  doubt,  largely  to  its  situation,  which  had 
been  fortunately  selected ;  for  it  stood  on  the 
most  crowded  thorouofhfare  between  the  East 
and  the  West.  The  valley  of  the  Orontes  above 
Antioch  afforded  a  passage  through  the  moun- 
tains always  open  for  hoavily-laden  caravans  from 
Persia  and  Arabia,  while  the  harbor  at  the  river's 
mouth  furnished  a  spacious  receptacle  for  the 
merchandize  of  Alexandria,  Italy,  and  Greece. 
Besides,  many  rich  and  luxurious  families  were 
attracted  by  the  delightful  climate  to  select  the 


■m^ 


ts 


Mr.  35.] 


ANtlOCH   OF  SYRIA. 


71 


growing  city  as  a  place  of  residence.  In  these 
ways  it  came  about  in  the  course  of  years,  that 
Antioch  was  a  large  city,  when  at  the  time 
of  the  Roman  conquest,  B.  C.  65,  it  received 
the  finishin":  touches  of  magnificence  under  the 
hands  of  the  Roman  emperors.  A  prodigious 
wall,  fift}^  feet  high,  and  many  miles  in  length, 
carried  up  and  along  the  precipitous  crest  of 
Mount  Silpius,  encompassed  the  city.  Its  ruins 
stand  out  to-day  on  the  ridge  of  the  mountain 
against  the  southern  sky  like  the  tremendous 
battlements  of  some  giant's  castle.  "  The  Great 
Corso"  traversed  the  city  from  east  to  west, 
nearly  parallel  with  the  river.  This,  after  the 
fiishion  in  ancient  Oriental  capitals,  consisted  of 
two  covered  colonnades.  Between  these  ran  a 
broad  avenue,  two  miles  of  which,  or  nearly 
half  its  length,  was  paved  with  white  mar- 
ble. There  was  an  aqueduct  and  public  baths, 
theatres,  temples,  palaces,  and  fortresses.  The 
population  of  Antioch  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  era  is  estimated  at  about  half  a 
million. 

But  the  pride  and  boast  of  Antioch  was  out- 
side the  city- walls.  Let  us  take  our  place  on 
that  fashionable  promenade  through  the  city, 
with  our  faces  toward  the  west.  Renan's  de- 
scription of  Daphne  will  help  us  to  comprehend 
our  surroundings.      "The  Great  Corso,  which 


I   ' 


imm 


T* 


12 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


lA.n.  41. 


!         I 


i  I 


traversod  the  city,  was  like  u  theatre,  in  which 
all  day  long  rolled  the  waves  of  a  poi)ulation 
empty,  frivolous,  tickle,  turbulent,  sometimes 
witty,  absorbed  in  songs,  parodies,  pleasant- 
ries, and  impertinences  of  every  description."  ' 
Moving  along  with  the  crowd,  we  pass  out  of 
the  city  at  the  Gate  of  the  Cherubim,  or  jms- 
sibly  at  the  Golden  Gate.  A  well-tra\elled 
avenue,  down  which  bowls  many  a  chariot  car- 
r^'ing  Roman  pleasure-seekers,  (Jreek  voluptu- 
aries, and  Syrian  girls,^  stretches  along  the  river 
bank  about  five  miles  to  the  famous  suburb 
of  I)ai)hne.  Thitherward  we  are  borne,  and 
reaching  the  destination  of  the  multitudes,  our 
eyes  are  greeted  with  a  view  of  one  of  the  most 
perfect  paradises  that  nature  and  art  ever  com- 
bined to  make.  Any  new  attempt  to  describe 
Daphne  to  one  who  has  read  the  description  in 
the  twenty-third  chai)ter  of  the  "  Decline  and 
Fall "  must  at  best  be  a  partial  failure. 

"  At  the  distance  of  live  miles  from  Antioch, 
the  Macedonian  kings  of  Syria  had  consecrated 
to  Apollo  one  of  the  most  elegant  places  of  de- 
votion in  the  Pagan  world.  A  magnificent 
temple  rose  in  honor  of  the  god  of  light ;  and 
his  colossal  figure  almost  filled  the  capacious 

1  Farrar;  "  Life  of  Paul,"  i  29-1,  note. 

2  "Those  Syrian  women  were  always  strange  creatures,  dis- 
puted for  by  God  and  Satan,  and  oscillating  between  the  saint  and 
the  demon,"  —Renan  ;  "  Apostles,"  p.  248. 


' 


«T.  33.] 


ANTIOCH   OF   SYRIA. 


73 


sanctuary,  which  was  enriclied  with  ji^old  and 
gems,  and  adorned  by  the  skill  of  the  Grecian 
artists.  Tiic  deity  was  represented  in  a  l^end- 
ing  attitude,  with  a  golden  cup  in  his  hand, 
pouring  out  a  libation  on  the  earth.  ...  In 
the  adjacent  fields  a  stadium  was  built  .  .  . 
the  Olympic  games  were  celebrated  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  city,  and  a  revenue  of  thirty  thou- 
sand pounds  was  annually  applied  to  the  public 
pleasures.  The  perpetual  resort  of  pilgrims 
and  spectators  insensibly  formed,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  temple,  the  stately  and  poi)ulous 
village  of  Daphne,  which  emulated  the  splendor, 
without  acquiring  the  title,  of  a  provincial  city. 
The  temple  and  the  village  were  deeply-bosomed 
in  a  thick  grove  of  laurels  and  cypresses,  which 
reached  as  far  as  a  circumference  of  ten  miles, 
and  formed  in  the  most  sultry  summers  a  cool 
and  impenetrable  shade.  A  thousand  streams 
of  the  purest  water,  issuing  from  every  hill, 
preserved  the  verdure  of  the  earth  and  the 
temperature  of  the  air ;  the  senses  were  grati- 
fied with  harmonious  sounds  and  aromatic 
odors ;  and  the  peaceful  grove  was  onsecrated 
to  health  and  joy,  to  luxury  and  love.  The 
soldier  and  the  philosopher  wisely  avoided  the 
temptation  of  this  sensual  i)aradise ;  where 
pleasure,  assuming  the  character  of  religion, 
imperceptibly  dissolved  the  firnmess  of  manly 


T\ 


74 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  41. 


virtue.  Hut  the  groves  of  Daphne  continued 
for  many  ages  to  enjoy  the  veneration  of  natives 
a?Kl  strangers  ;  tlie  privileges  of  tlie  holy  ground 
were  enlarged  hy  the  munificence  of  succeeding 
eniperors ;  and  every  generation  added  new 
ornaments  (o  the  splendor  of  the  temple." 

Antioch  swarmed  with  a  cosmopolitan  popu- 
lation, a  considerable  proportion  of  which  were 
according  to  the  flesh,  children  of  Al)raham, 
who  possessed  here  equal  rights  with  men  of 
other  nations.  Of  course  the  wealthy  CI  reeks, 
whose  fathers  and  grandfathers  hfid  made  An- 
tioch what  it  was,  with  the  civil  and  military 
officials,  who  constituted  the  Koman  court  and 
its  append  es,  Mere  the  aristocracy  <»f  the  city, 
while  the  native  Syrians  —  men,  women,  boys, 
and  girls  —  made  up  the  working  class  and  slaves. 
All  this,  —  her  situation  on  the  river  among  the 
mountains,  yet  near  the  sea ;  her  luxurious, 
enervating  climate  ;  her  prosperity  in  trade  ;  her 
increasing  wealth  ;  her  extravagance  ;  her  hete- 
rogeneous i)()pulations,  the  great  social  sep- 
aration between  aristocrats  and  slaves  on  the 
one  hand,  and  their  indiscriminate  mingling  on 
the  other;  her  brutalizing  sports  and  lewd 
dramfitic  exhibitions :  her  sensuous  religious 
ceremonials  and  festivals,  —  all  combined  to  pro- 
duce in  the  beautiful  vallev  of  the  Orontes  the 
worst  and  most  poisonous  s[)ot  of  moralcorrup- 


^T.  35.1 


ANTIOCII    OF    .<VUIA. 


75 


tion  that  h;is  oxqv  hioken  out  upon  tho  face  of 
the  earth.  Nor  did  the  literary  and  intellectual 
activity  of  the  city  iini)rove  this  condition  :  but 
rather  heated  and  stimulated  the  festering  im- 
morality, ''(rod  u'ffs  not  ill  all  th'iv  (/iou(//itSy"  ' 
and  atheism  in  su«h  a  h()ll)cd  l)ore  onlv  its 
native  fruit.  Frivolity  and  profligacy  held 
unceasing  carnival, — "a  perpetual  festival  of 
vice." 

It  was  necessary  that  we  should  delay  our 
attention  through  these  few  pages  in  order  to 
present  to  ourselves  a  view  of  the  charactei 
of  that  city  which  stands  second  only  to  Jeru- 
salem in  the  annals  of  Christianity.  Meanwhile 
Saul  has  been  in  the  region  of  Svria  and  Cilicia, 
with  his  headquarters  at  Tarsus,  among  the 
acquaintances  of  his  youth.  AVe  will  take  up 
the  thread  of  his  life  asxain  ;  after  first  noticing 
the  series  of  events  that  resulted  in  his  coming 
from  Tarsus  to  Antioch. 

1  Psalm  X.  4. 


^>f       ' 


7 


7" 
I' 


!   ! 

'  i! 


■\ 

^    f 

! 

■  1 

'        r 

'1 

1 
1 

i 
1 

m. 

11 
\1 

m 

■ 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  FIRST  TEX   YEARS  AFTER  CHRIST. 

"  The  liffht  tliat  jflcamcd  on  Jiula's  hills, 
First  kindled  by  the  touch  ol"  God, 
Now  all  the  dome  of  nature  fills, 
And  heralds  truth  where  error  trod." 
*  Axon. 

"  Even  with  so  soft  a  surpc  and  an  increasing, 
drunk  of  the  sand  and  thwarted  of  the  clod, 
stilled  and  astir  and  checked  and  never-ceasing 
spreadcth  the  great  wave  of  the  grace  of  (iod." 

F.   W.   II.   MVERS. 

A  CT8  xi.  19-21  furnishes  an  excellent  start- 
-^^  ing-point  for  a  brief  account  of  the  first 
spreading  movement  of  Christianity.  "They 
therefore  who  Avere  scattered  abroad  upon  the 
tribulation  that  arose  about  Stephen  travelled 
as  far  as  Phoenicia,  and  Cyprus,  and  Antioch, 
speaking  the  word  to  none  save  only  to  Jews. 
But  there  were  some  of  them,  men  of  Cyprus  and 
Cyrene,  who,  when  they  were  come  to  Antioch, 
spake  unto  the  Greeks  also,  preaching  the  Lord 
Jesus.  And  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with 
them  :  and  a  great  number  that  believed  turned 
unto  the  Lord." 
Following  Lewin's  chronology,  we  may  assume 

76 


^T.  35.]       FIRST  TEN  YEARS  AFTER  CHRIST. 


77 


that  the  death  of  Stei)licn  occurred  four  years 
after  the  crucitixion  of  our  Lord,  during  which 
time  the  growth  of  Christianity  seems  to  have 
been  confined  entirely  to  Jerusalem  and  its 
innnediate  vicinity.  The  events,  as  related  by 
Luke  in  the  first  five  chapters  of  Acts,  are,  the 
selection  of  ^latthias  to  be  an  apostle  in  the 
place  of  Judas,  i.  1 5-2(5 ;  the  miraculous  mani- 
festation of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  day  of  Pen- 
tecost followed  by  Peter's  preaching  and  the 
conversion  of  three  thousand,  ii.  1-47 ;  the 
curing  of  a  cripple  at  the  Gate  Beautiful,  iii.  1- 
11 ;  the  arrest,  examination,  and  threatening  of 
Peter  and  John,  iv.  1-22  ;  their  continual  preach- 
ing with  additional  converts  among  whom  ap- 
pears for  the  first  time  Barnabas  of  Cyprus,  iv. 
23-37  ;  the  lies  and  sudden  deaths  of  Ananias 
and  Sapphira,  v.  1-10 ;  the  performance  of 
many  miracles  by  the  Apostles,  v.  15-16  ;  their 
second  arrest  when,  after  being  put  in  prison, 
they  w^ere  delivered  by  an  angel,  v.  17-23  ;  their 
third  arrest  when  having  been  beaten  they 
were  delivered  by  the  advice  of  Gamaliel  from 
the  intention  of  the  severer  members  of  the  San- 
hedrim to  put  them  to  death,  v.  24-40  ;  their  un- 
conquerable zeal  in  that  "  they  ceased  not  to 
teach  and  preach  Jesus  Christ,"  v.  42.  All 
this  took  place  at  Jerusalem ;  but  it  was  not 
the  intention  of  Jesus  that  his  followers  should 


78 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D,  41. 


i 


1    i 


1)C  only  Jews  or  residents  oC  Palestine.  Other 
countries,  ind  people  of  other  tongues,  nuuiy 
who  had  not  heard  the  IIel)re\v  serii)tures, 
or  known  the  Mosaic  law,  must  hear  and  be 
hlessed  hy  the  words  of  Christ.  The  Aj)ostles 
themselves  did  not  understand  this  at  first. 
Peter  even  was  slow  to  learn  it.  James  and 
the  other  leaders  were  still  slower  to  admit 
that  the  Gentiles  mio:ht  receive  the  favor  of 
God.  So  the  Apostles  settled,  very  well  con- 
tent with  the  result  of  their  work,  in  the  city 
of  their  fathers.  The  opposition  with  which 
they  had  to  contend  for  the  first  four  years  was 
not  of  so  severe  a  type  as  to  raise  the  question 
of  selecting  some  other  field  for  preaching. 

But  the  cruel  blow  which  killed  Stei)hen 
(chaps,  vi.  and  vii.)  scattered  the  flaming  l>rands 
to  kindle  beacon-fires  upon  many  a  distant  hill- 
side. At  first  all  the  disciples,  except  the 
Apostles,  were  scattered  through  Judea  and 
Samaria,  vi.  1.  Of  these  was  Philip  (not  the 
Apostle,  l)ut  the  deacon,  cf.  vi.  5).  We  see 
him  north  of  Jerusalem  in  the  city  of  Samaria, 
telling  even  the  luited  Samaritans  about  Jesus ; 
then  south  on  the  way  to  Gaza,  where  an 
Ethiopiai.  eunuch  is  converted  and  baptized  ;  and 
soon  at  Azotus,  from  which  he  preaches  through 
the  tov;ns  and  villages  until  hi'  comes  to  Ceesarea. 
The  Gospel  is  spreading  toward  the  Gentiles. 


|l 


V 


■dt-.tti 


/Er.  :i5.]       FIHST  TEN  YEAU8  AFIEU  CHRIST. 


79 


Alrcacl}'  at  tho  end  of  three  yeiirs  from  Stc- 
plien's  (lentil,  when  Saul  came  hiwk  from  Da- 
mascus to  Jerusalem,  there  were  '"churches"  all 
through  Judea,  Samaria,  and  (ialilee,  ix.  31. 
Still  the  middle  wall  is  nor  iu'oken  down. 
The  Samaritans  were  Samaritan  Jews ;  the 
Ethio})ian  was  a  Jewish  proselyte,  who  was 
readini;  the  prophet  Isaiah  at  the  time  of  his 
conv^'rsion.  Tiiere  was  a  manifest  tendency  to 
extend  the  hlessiniifs  of  the  (iosi  '.  hevond  the 
strictest  sect  of  Jews  ;  but  the  entire  l)readth  of 
Christ's  purpose  had  not  yet  dawned  upcm  the 
Apostles. 

After  Saul's  second  visit  to  Jerusalem  and 
de[)arture  to  Tarsus,  Peter  made  a  tour  of  the 
riuirchcs  in  Palestine,  and  came  around  to 
Joppa,  the  most  ancient  seaport  of  the  Eastern 
Mediterranean,  where  he  spent  some  tiiue  in  the 
house  of  Simon,  a  tanner.  Thirty  miles  north 
of  tloppa  was  the  new  and  beautiful  city  of 
Cit'sarea,  built  by  llerod  the  (Jreat,  about  B.C. 
20.  It  was  the  Roman  capital  of  the  province 
(►f  Palestine,  the  official  residence  of  the  Ilvrods, 
and  the  principal  military  post  in  the  })rovince. 
Festus,  B^elix,  and  other  Roman  <>()vernors  of 
Palestine  also  made  tiieir  resi(U'nce  here.  Ciusa- 
rea  had  a  fine  harbor,  protected  by  an  artilicial 
breakwater  of  magniticent  [)roportions.  which 
added    to   its   mercantile    importance.      There 


so 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


I  [i      I 

!      i 


I 


M 


r    I 


M.I>.  41. 

were  luiiny  handsome  I,uil,Iin„.      . 

them,  l,o„ever,  erect.-d  !„'"'"'  ""  "^ 

ofa„  entirely  l,e«the„d!--.,i''",  "''"""•""ee 
follo,ve<i  Suul,  when    2,;  ,  i""'*-'  "''''""'^ 

pa.s.secl  tln-ous,  C es  .'o.!         > '^^'  '""'"'"P'^'  •>« 

'ncIie.-.tion,s   of    (|,,t    „  '  '     '"  '*"""'  "*'  "'e 

>•«"  one  .sn..h  event  oe        e;,    ^  ^""''  '"  ^ '»■«'- 

^r'-''""t  only  maw ';I^7::;7"V ';'"''' 

nsmg  wave  „f  ci,,,-  „•      ,    ',   '     '"  "'"^■''  the 
J^^'tcr  is  still  in  f ,  '"■  ^''^'''''-''''lism. 

«'"^v  his  .1;^  ;:;;r;;;-'  ,;;:;^'«';  to., 

tl.e  threshold  ,,r       ";"■''"'''''''•  "•-'- 
ft't  l-ere  ho  i       ::V;"f  •'"'""''    '■•'»''- 

'      '    "    "'''"■'   ^^^''■•""l''^'' of  an  Eastern 

'Wullcsuii:  "Si.  1-„„|,",,.  88. 


-■\\\"^' 


Mr.  35. 


FIRST  TEN  YEARS  AFTKR  THHIST. 


81 


house)  to  pray.  ^^^  do  not  know  what  great 
thoughts  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  may  be  press- 
ing upon  him,  what  (|uesti()ns  lie  may  ]>e  long- 
in^-  to  solve,  what  plans  for  the  churches  and 
their  spread  and  growth  he  may  be  maturing, 
nor  what  obstacles  are  l)efore  him.  We  may 
be  sure,  though,  that  the  care  of  the  churches 
is  upon  him  as  he  goes  up  to  pray.  Furrar 
sketches,  in  his  inimitable  way,  the  scene  upon 
which  Peter  gaz(Ml  from  Simon's  housetop : 
"A  small  Oriental  town,  with  the  outline  of  its 
flat  roofs  and  losv  S(|uare  houses  relieved  by  trees 
and  gardens ;  a  line  of  low  dunes  and  sandy 
shore  ;  a  sea  stretching  far  away  to  the  Isles  of 
the  Gentiles.  ...  It  is  a  meeting-point  of  the 
East  and  West.  Behind  us  lie  Philistia  and 
the  Holy  Land.  Beyond  the  Jordan,  and  be- 
yond the  purple  hills  which  form  the  eastern 
ramparts  of  its  valley,  and  fi.r  away  beyond 
the  Euphrates,  were  the  countries  of  those  im- 
memorial and  colossal  desi)otisms  —  the  giant 
forms  of  empires  which  had  passed  long  ago  'on 
their  way  to  ruin:'  before  us  —  a  highway  for 
the  nations — are  the  inhmd  waters  of  the  sea 
whose  shores  durin"  lonjr  affes  of  historv  have 
been  the  sc^ne  of  all  that  is  best  and  greatest  in 
the  progress  of  mankind."  ' 

Here   Peter   prayed,   and   while   he   waited, 

1  "St.  Paul,"  I.  270. 


I 


t  i 


if 


j*llll 


I 


82 


LIFK    OF    PAl'L. 


[A.D.  41 


hungiy,  he  slept  or  fell  inio  :i  trance,  and  saw  a 
vision,  —  a  sheet  let  down  tVoni  heaven,  and  in 
it  all  kinds  of  four-footed  beasts,  creeping  things, 
and  birds,  clean  and  unclean,  hut  the  touch  of 
the  unclean  polluting  for  a  Jew,  even  thai  which 
otherwise  would  have  been  clean,  (iazing  upon 
this  strange  sight,  he  heard  a  voice,  that  said, 
"  Rise,  l?eter,  kill  and  eat."  "  What !  I,  a  Jew, 
to  satisfy  my  hunger,  eat  that  which  the  law 
pronounces  unclean  I  Not  so,  Lord  ;  for  I  have 
viever  eaten  anything  that  is  common  or  un- 
-^lean."  He  was  faithful  to  that  j)art  of  the 
Jetter  of  the  law  which  he  com],)rehended  ;  hut 
he  must  have  forgotten  or  failed  to  understand 
many  things  which  Jesus  had  said  in  his  hear- 
ing ;  for  this  legal  fc,crui)ulosity  })ronounced  not 
only  certain  kinds  of  food  which  (ientiles  ate 
unclean,  but  also  that  the  Gentiles  themselves 
were  unclean  and  not  t>>  be  associated  with  by 
Jews.  Peter,  however,  s  naturally  generous  ; 
and  this  tradition  nuist  have  seemed  to  him  an 
inconvenient  restriction  rather  than  a  covetable 
distinction.  It  stood  in  the  way  of  the  spread 
of  the  Gospel ;  and  the  ( ios})el ,  we  may  presume, 
was  rapidly  rising  in  Peter's  mind  above  the 
law  of  ]Moses  and  the  tradition  of  the  Elders. 
Here,  then,  while  praying,  the  Lord  taught  this 
Ai)ostlethat  linal  lesson  of  Christian  brotherhood 
and  fellowship,  "  What  God  hath  cleansed,  that 


i 


I ' ', 


f 


Mr.  3«.l    FIUST    TEN    YEARS    AFTER    CHRIST. 


83 


call  not  thoii  common."  It  wus  so  sudden  tlmt, 
at  the  very  tirst,  he  coiUd  not  (luitc  l)elieve  it; 
but  nipidly  and  ghully  he  let  it  tianstbnn  his 
heart. 

While  l\'ter  is  praying  id  ,Iot)pa  there  is 
another  })rayinii-  in  tashionahle,  gay  Ciesarea. 
This  man  is  a  Roman  aristocrat,  an  army  offi- 
cer, connnander  of  a  .select  regiment  stationed 
at  this  courl-citv.  We  nuist  remember  that 
rhilij)  had  visited  Civsarea,^  and  that  it  is  not 
imi)robal)le  that  this  officer,  Cornelius,  had  heard 


mn 


pi 


each.     At  any  rate,  Cornelius  was  a  nuui 


of  prayer  and  of  good  works.  An  angel  bade 
him  send  to  Jopj)a  for  Peter.  Three  men,  —  two 
servants  and  a  devout  soldier,  —  hastened  away, 
travelliu":  all  nii>ht,  and  reached  Simon's  house 
before  Peter  had  come  down  from  the  housetop. 
AVhen  Peter  reached  Ciesarea  he  found  a  large 
number  gathered  at  the  house  of  Cornelius  to 
see  and  hear  him.  lie  met  them  graciously  and 
magnanimously,  and,  after  relating  the  circum- 
stances by  which  he  had  been  led  to  lay  aside 
the  scruples  which  heretofore  had  prevented  his 
associatinir  with  Gentiles,  he  told  them  about 
Jesus,  and  liis  readiness  to  forgive  sins.  The 
result  is  described  by  Luke  in  a  few  simple 
words :  "  While  Peter  yet  spake  these  words, 
the  Holy  Ghost  fell  on  all  them  which   heard 

1  See  page  78. 


84 


LIFE   OF   PAITL. 


[A.D.  42. 


I 


the  word.  And  tliey  of  llic  ircunicision  which 
believed  were  jiina/ed,  us  many  as  came  with 
Peter,  because  that  on  the  (ientih's  also  was 
poured  out  tiie  gift  of  tlie  Holy  (ihost.  For 
they  heard  them  speak  with  tonuues  and  mag- 
nify (lod.  Then,  answered  Peter,  Can  any  man 
for])id  water,  that  these  should  not  be  baptized, 
which  have  received  the  IIolv  (irhost,  as  well  as 
we?  And  he  conunanded  them  to  be  baptized 
in  the  name  of  flesus  Christ." 

The  news  of  this  remarkable  act  of  Peter  jflew 
to  Jerusalem,  and  as  soon  as  he  returned  there 
he  was  called  uj)on  by  the  Jewish  Christians 
for  an  explanation  of  his  conduct.  He  rehearsed 
all,  and  their  hearts  too  were  touched  and 
opened ;  their  objections  were  removed ;  they 
"glorified  (Jod,  saying,  then  to  the  Gentiles 
also  hath  (iod  granted  repentance  unto  life." 
The  Gospel  has  spread  to  the  Gentiles. 

Another  movement  still  farther  north  com- 
pletes llie  chain  of  events  which  prepared  the 
way  for  SauPs  work.  The  discii)les  Mdio  had 
fled  from  .Jerusalem  preached  the  Gospel  to 
Jews  only  ;  but  there  were  some  great  souls. 
Christian  men,  whose  names  we  do  not  know, 
from  the  Island  of  Cyprus,  and  from  the  rlcy 
of  Cvrene,  a  thousand  miles  awav  on  the  north- 
ern  shore  of  Africa,  who  came  to  Antioch,  and 
there  proclaimed  to  Jews  and  Greeks  alike  the 


iET.  36.]     FIRST   TEN    VEARS    AFTER   CHRIST. 


85 


''glml  tidings  of  great  joy.''  What  a  field  for 
the  Gospel !  Luxury  Jind  sin  are  not  long 
satisfactory.  There  were  in  the  Syrian  capital 
thousands  of  sin-stained,  disappointed,  dis- 
couraged, brokoif  hearts ;  thousands  of  ami)i- 
tious,  unsatisfied  souls ;  tliousands  of  eager 
seekers  after  a  better  way  of  life,  to  whom  the 
Gospel  came  as  the  l^est  news  they  had  ever 
heard.  It  is  little  wonder  that  extraordinary 
success  attended  the  preacliing  of  the  Word, 
and  that  very  many  became  the  followers  of 
Jesus.  When  the  church  at  Jerusalem  heard 
this  good  news  they  inmiediately  sent  Barnabas 
to  Antioch  to  help  on  the  work  and  to  assist 
(for  which  he  was  admirably  fitted  both  by  his 
natural  disposition  and  his  experience)  in  in- 
structino;  and  or2:anizin<2:  the  hiv<XQ  number  of 
new  converts  just  out  of  the  most  depraved 
lieathenism.  But  on  his  reaching  the  city,  the 
magnitude  of  tlie  movement  was  such  that  Bar- 
nabas did  not  feel  adequate  alone  to  assume  tlie 
responsibility  of  leadership.  He  was  a  "  son  of 
exhortation  ;  "  and,  beins:  verv  irlad  to  see  in  this 
city,  long  famous  for  its  i)ndc  and  corru})tion, 
so  many  followers  of  the  pure  and  lowly  Jesus, 
"he  exhorted  them  all  that  with  purpose  of 
heart  they  Avould  cleave  unto  the  Lord.'"  Then 
he  went  to  Tarsus  to  fiud  Saul. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


'r 


THE  WORK   AND  THE   MAN. 

**  The  sun  cannot  he  hid 
The  lieavcns  uiuid. 
The  sun  is  seen,  hecauso  ho  sliincs, 
And  the  sun  sliines,  hccause  lie  is  the  sun." 

Wm.  C.  Wilkinson. 

"The  first  knowlcdifo  that  the  popuhition  of  Aiilioch  liad  of  the 
presence  of  him  whom  we  knowastiu-  (inat  A|M).-.ile  was  that  a  new 
sliop  had  hccn  opened  hy  a  rilician  -Few  for  tlic  sale  of  tents  and 
sackcloth."  —  E.  II.  I'LirMi'Titc. 

TTK  v.lio  aiTiiniics  tlio  order  of  cvont.s,  and 
-*--'-  ordains  tliat  cortuin  chosen  men  arc  to  do 
certain  delinite  work,  never  makes  a  mistake. 

Saul  has  heen  a(  Tarsus  tliree  years,  and  (he 
world  outside  of  Cilieia  knows  nolhinir  about 
liim.  ITis  v<'r\  exist<Miee  is  almost  f()r«rotten. 
Gamaliel  probahly,  as  he  lhiid<s  over  his  former 
pupils,  wonders  what  has  Ixieome  of  that  hoy 
Saul,  who  ])romi.;e<l  so  well,  l)ul  tuined  out  so 
badl}'.  There  arc;  certain  (lirislians  at  Damas- 
cus, who  recall  him  as  a  meteor  that  shot  across 
their  sky.  Jamc  and  Peter  at  Jerusjdem,  and 
Barnabas,  who  has  just  gone  down  to  Antioch, 
have  rarcd}  mentioned  his  name.  They  have 
been  very  nuich  eniiaii"e<l  with  their  great  Avovk 
119 


JRt.  3«.1 


THE    WOUK    AN  J)   TIIK    MAN. 


ai 


X 


of  spreadiiiff  the  (jospol ;  and  l)U.sy  men,  though 
they  may  not  forget,  do  not  talk  mucli,  about 
the  al)sent.  But  we  nuist  ])elieve  that  it  mat- 
tered little  to  Saul  whether  t\u)  world  had 
forgotten  him  or  not.  lie  wms  not  panting 
after  popularity :  hut  he  wtis  eager  to  make 
Christ  known.  If  he  went  hack  to  Tarsus  a 
disci})!*'  of  Christ,  it  was  not  to  let  his  light  he 
hid  under  a  l)ushel.  His  father  and  mother,  if 
they  were  still  living,  were  probably  grieved  that 
their  son  should  have  departed  from  the  belief 
of  his  eountrvmen,  and  should  have  yielded 
to  the  persuasion  that  J(»sus  of  Nazareth  was 
the  expected  Messiah.  And  there  were  doubt- 
less many  neighl)ors  and  acquaintances  who 
sympathized  with  them  in  their  disappointment. 
All  this  was  not  easy  for  Saul  to  meet  on  his 
return  to  his  native  citv.  Besides,  he  came 
back  as  a  fugitive  seeking  a  hiding-place.  In 
no  city  where  he  had  been  since  his  conversion, 
had  his  life  been  set-ure  a  da}'  from  the  plottings 
of  the  Jews,  who  thought  it  would  be  doing  God 
service  to  j)ut  him  to  death.  An  ordinary  man 
would  have  suffered  ver}'  ])itter  dejection  when 
he  reflected  that  these  were  the  results  of  bc- 
/'oming  a  follower  of  Christ.  But  it  did  not 
take  Saul  long  to  recover  himself,  even  if  he 
were  cast  down.  Ffe  never  doubted  that  he  was 
riofht.     "I  know  whom  J  have  believed,"  was 


I : 


I  i 


:i 


\u 


\\\ 


88 


LIFE   OF   PATTL. 


r.V.n.  44. 


from  tlie  first  liis  M'jitchword.     AVo  an;  not  sur- 


(l.then,  to  find,  a  fe 


lat( 


his  life  » 


prised,  then,  to  nnd,  a  lew  years  later  ni  nis  in 
a  reference  made  to  eliurehes  existini>-  in  "Syria 
and  Cilieia,"  the  origin  of  Avhieh  can  only  be 
accounted  for  l)y  supposing  that  Paul's  sojourn 
at  Tarsus  at  this  time  was  passed  in  preaching  the 
Gospel  to  the  people  of  that  city,  and  in  the 
towns  and  villajjes  for  manv  miles  jiround. 

Saul  is  now  nearly  forty  years  old,  and  has 
already  had  a  large  experience.  In  the  city  and 
in  the  country,  in  the  Avorkshop  and  in  the  school- 
room, among  the  illiterate  and  among  the  most 
highly-educated,  a  Scribe,  a  lawyer,  a  judge, 
an  exhorter  in  the  synagogues,  an  envoy  of  the 
Sanhedrim,  with  power  of  life  and  death,  a  fugi- 
tive hunted  from  city  to  city,  —  in  every  way 
Saul  had  learnt  the  sharp  lessons  of  life. 

There  are  two  things  about  Saul  that  at  this 
poi^it — just  as  we  are  starting  out  with  him 
for  his  twenty  years  of  missionary  life  —  we 
would  all  like  to  know,  viz.,  how  he  looked,^ 
and  what  his  natural  disposition  or  character 

1  Acts  xvi.  41. 

'^  "If  he  had  been  pointctl  out  1o  us  iu  sonic  corner  of  Corinth, 
Athens,  or  Home,  we  could  scarcely  have  believed  our  eyes. 
What!  —  we  should  say,  perhaps  —  that  man,  so  inconsiderable  iu 
appearance,  so  fearful  and  trembling ;  that  man,  with  a  body  so 
feeble,  his  language  common,  his  speech  contomptil)le;  that  man, 
who  drags  from  place  to  place  tliat  grievous  thorn  in  his  flesh,  — 
is  Saint  Paul,  is  the  Apostle  of  Apostles  r  " 

Adolphe  Monod:  "Saint  Paul,"  p.  119. 


t 


li 


i 


ysx. 


mt.  38.) 


THE    WOJIK    AM)   TIIK    MAN. 


89 


' 


I, 


was.  On  the  first  of  these  points  wo  have  but 
little  information,  and  most  of  this  is  unsat- 
isfactory. There  are  several  intimations  in 
2  Cor.  X.  that  the  Apostle  wa>  a  small  man. 
Chrvsostom  ealU'<'  him  "the  three-cubit  man." 
In  the  Vatican  lii'iars  in  Home  there  is  a  bronze 
medal  which  was  lound  in  the  Cemetery  of  Dom- 
itilla  and  which  i,  isi  have  been  made  within 
tifty  years  of  SauTs  death.  I'he  heads  of  Peter 
and  Paul  are  on  it,  and  they  arc  presumed  to 
be  fairly  correct  likenesses.  "  That  of  Paul 
in  particular,"  says  Lewin,  describing  the  por- 
traits, "is  distinguished  by  solemnity  and  dig- 
nity, and  the  thoughtful  and  wrinkled  brow 
indicates  the  high  intellect  that  so  remarkably 
characterized  the  man."  There  is  a  striking 
resemblance  between  this  and  the  head  of  the 
Apostle  painted  by  Kaphael.  There  are  two 
descriptions  t)f  Saul's  personal  appearance,  both 
of  which  are  (juotcd  by  Lewin,  as  well  [is  by 
Farrar.  The  first  is  from  the  pen  of  John  of 
Antioch  :  "Paul  was  in  person  round-shouldered, 
with  Ji  sprinkling  of  gray  on  his  head  and  beard, 
with  an  aquiline  nose,  meeting  eyebrows,  with  a 
mixture  of  pale  and  red  in  his  complexion,  and 
an  ample  beard.  With  a  genial  expression  of 
countenance,  he  was  sensible,  earnest,  easily 
accessible,  sweet,  and  inspired  with  the  Holy 
Spirit." 


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90 


LIFE   OF  PAUL. 


[A.D.  44. 


The  second  is  from  Nicephorus,  and  was 
written  in  the  tifteenth  century :  — 

"Paul  was  little  and  dwarfish  in  person,  and 
slightly  crooked  and  somewhat  stooping ;  his 
face  was  fair  and  comely;  l)ald-headed,  with 
light  blue  eyes  ;  the  nose  hooked ;  the  ))oard 
long  and  thick,  with  white  hairs  well  sprinkled 
over  both  head  and  beard." 

In  addition  to  these  intimations,  there  is  a 
tradition  that  the  Apostle's  "  light  blue  eyes  ' 
were  atlected  by  a  disease  not  uncommon  in 
Eastern  countries,  and  that  at  times,  consequent 
upon  over-exertion  or  exposure,  he  was  liable 
to  severe  and  painful  attacks,  which  not  infre- 
quently rendered  him  entirely  blind,  and  which 
may  have  been  that  "  thorn  in  the  tiesh ''  from 
which  he  prayed  in  vain  to  be  delivered. 

The  physical  proportions,  however,  and  per- 
sonal appearance  of  such  a  man  ao  Saul  are  of 
less  interest  than  the  traits  of  his  natural  dispo- 
sition, and  the  elements  of  his  character  as  de- 
veloped by  faith  in,  and  obedience  to  Jesus 
Christ.  And  for  the  investigation  of  this  point, 
there  is  abundant  opportunity  and  a  fruitful 
field.  While  we  have  such  a  scarcity  of  mate- 
rial for  reproducing  a  picture  of  his  outward 
form,  no  man  of  antiquity  has  spread  out  his 
very  heart  for  the  gaze  of  the  whole  world  as 
Saul  has.      In   the  thirteen  letters   that   have 


f 


ii^ 


a 


J 


^.T.  38.] 


THE    WORK    AND    THE    MAN. 


91 


been  preserved,  and  in  the  speeches  that  he 
made  at  different  times,  wliich  are  reported  in 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  he  tells  us,  no  doubt 
without  intending  to,  what  kind  of  man  he  was. 
A\'e  do  not  have  to  read  between  his  lines  to 
discover  the  character  of  Saul.^ 

We  have  some  glimpses  of  what  that  charac- 
ter must  have  been  before  his  conversion.  And 
we  must  place  first  of  all,  because  it  was  the 
grand  controlling  element  of  his  whole  career, 
even  before  he  became  a  follower  of  Christ,  his 
thorough  conscientiousness.  Whatever  else  Saul 
of  Tarsus  was,  he  was  a  }'outh  who  reverenced 
God,  and,  so  far  as  he  knew,  chose  to  do  what 
was  riffht  in  His  sight.  There  was  no  lack  of 
thorough-going  principle  in  his  conduct.  He 
was  resolute^  firm,  rigid,  in  his  adherence  to 
what  he  conceived  to  be  his  duty.  His  educa- 
tion had  led  him  to  believe  that  the  law  of 
Moses  and  the  Jewish  ritual  were  the  highest 
expressions  of  right.  These  formed  a  wall 
over  which  he  could  not  see  until  after  his  con- 
version ;  but  inside  that  narrow  life  he  would 
have  suftered  death  rather  than  to  have  been 
disobedient  to  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  will  of 

1  The  meie  titles  of  Howson's  chapters,  in  his  "  Character  of 
St.  Paul,"  arc  instructive  : 

I.  Tact  and  Presence  of  ^lind  ;  If.  Tcndcrncis  and  ^vmpathy; 
III.  Conscientiousness  and  TntCiiiity;  IV.  Thanksgiving  and 
Prayer;  V.  Courage  and  Persevt'rance. 


92 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  44. 


■I,. 


God.  Now  if  we  add  to  this  tniit  of  conscien- 
tiousness another,  viz.,  ambition ,  we  shall  have 
described  the  two  great  features  of  his  char- 
acter. There  is  no  doubt  that  it  was  the  dream 
of  Saul's  ])oyhood  to  do  some  great  thing,  and 
to  become  famous.  It  was  this  that  pushed 
him  out  ahead  of  his  fellows.  It  was  his  eager 
ambition,  coupled  with  his  conscientiousness, 
which,  when  no  other  young  Jew  in  Jerusa- 
lem cared  to  undertake  it,  spurred  on  Saul  to 
request  a  special  commission  of  persecution 
against  a  sect  which  he  verily  believed  was 
blaspheming  the  Law,  the  Temple,  and  his 
God. 

But  in  his  life  after  conversion,  there  appears 
a  very  rich  cluster  of  ripening  fruits.  All  that 
clear  conscientiousness  and  forceful  ambition, 
all  the  energy  of  his  will,  the  uncommon  quick- 
ness of  his  thought,  the  depth  and  tenderness 
of  his  feeling,  the  strength  and  force  of  his 
reasoning,  his  discernment  of  men,  and  his  mas- 
terly method,^  were  consecrated  to  the  service 
of  Christ,  and  became  beautiful.  Then  we  see 
his  rare  devotion  to  the  I^ord,  carrying  him 
away  from  all  his  former  life,  until  he  can  say, 
out  of  a  glad  heart,  too,  tbjit  he  counts  every- 
thing else  worthless  if  he  can  only  have  Christ ;  ^ 


1  W.  T.  Resser  : 

2  Phil.  iii.  4-11. 


"  St.  Paul  the  Apostle,"  p.  5. 


I 


W  tri 


.1 


44. 


JET.  38.] 


THE   WORK   AND   THE   MAN. 


93 


[ve 

ir- 


his  ambition  no  longer  satisfied  with  a  corrupti- 
ble crown,  but  reaching  out  after  an  incor- 
ruptible crown,  "the  prize  of  the  high  calling 
of  God  in  Christ  Jesus."  ^ 

It  has  often  been  that  a  strong  and  brilliant 
character  has  shone  out  through  a  weak  and 
suffering  body.  Saul  says  of  himself  that  his 
bodily  presence  was  weak  and  his  speech  con- 
temptible.^ How  hard,  then,  for  him  to  under- 
take those  journeys  by  sea  and  land,  and  to 
thrust  himself  forward  into  every  crowded  syn- 
agogue and  into  the  presence  of  governors  and 
philosophers,  with  his  message  of  the  truth. 
He  knew  that  he  was  only  "a  small  and  ugly 
Jew,"  "  physically  infirm,  constitutionally  nerv- 
ous, painfully  sensitive."^  He  remembered  this 
often  and  spoke  of  it ;  but  his  zeal  for  Christ 
made  him  self-forgetful  at  other  times,  or  made 
him  boast  of  his  infirmities  ;  because  they  formed 
a  background  ao-ainst  which  mij^ht  be  seen  more 
clearly  the  manifold  grace  of  God.  He  was 
willing  to  ])e  an  earthen  vessel  of  the  common- 
est clay,  if  only  he  might  be  filled  with  the 
riches  of  Christ.  There  was  no  vanity,  there- 
fore ,  in  Saul  .**  He  spoke  and  wrote  freely  of  him- 
self, but  only  to  magnify  the  grace  and  mercy  of 

1  Phil.  iii.  14.      2  2  Cor.  x.  10.      3  Fiiimi-:    "  St.  Paul,"  i.  341. 

*  "  Throughout  his  Epistles  there  is  not  one  word  that  savors 
of  vanity,  nor  is  any  action  recorded  of  him  in  which  the  least 
mark  of  it  appears."  — G.L.  Lyttelton:  "  Observations,"  p.  47. 


94 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  44. 


'.I     I 


■  '  I 


\J 


God.i  We  must  set  clown  humility,  then,  as 
one  of  his  Christijin  chju'iicterlstics.  But  hu- 
mility may  degenerate  into  weakness  if  it  is 
not  accompanied  w lih.  pet'severance  and  courage. 
These  two  Saul  had.  Christ  called  him  to  be 
an  apostle.  He  could  wait  for  the  divine  inti- 
mation that  the  hour  had  come  for  him  to  pro- 
ceed ;  but  from  that  hour  to  the  end  of  life, 
nothing  but  chains  or  imprisonment  could  deter 
him  from  carrying  forward  the  work  committed 
to  him.  Add  now  to  these  qualities  that  sym- 
pathy which  drew  him  out  toward  every  soul 
that  was  in  any  distress  or  darkness ;  ^  that  ten- 
derness which,  thouo-h  sometimes  he  was  car- 
ried  away  by  the  torrent  of  his  zeal,  made  him 
always  mindful  of  the  feelings  and  pains  of 
others  ;  that  warmtJi  of  heart  and  affedionateness 
which  made  him  long  for  the  companionship  of 
his  brethren,  and  drew  from  him  those  expres- 
sions of  love  which,  like  goodly  pearls,  deck 
the  logic  of  his  Epistles  ;  ^  that  abounding  grati- 

1  Howsoi) :    '♦  Character  of  St.  Paul,"  p,  107. 

2  "  One  in  whose  character  commanding  ability,  simple  and 
unswerving  purpose,  uuflagglny  energy,  unselfish  enthusiasm,  and 
warm  and  wide  and  sunny  sympathy  were  combined  in  a  degree 
unrivalled  in  the  history  of  our  race."  —  Knox  Little:  "Man- 
chester Sermons,"  p.  259. 

3  "  \iy  a  rare  privilege  of  nature  (sliaU  I  term  it  ?)  or  of  grace, 
Saint  Paul,  combin'ng  opposite  qualities  in  himseli",  and  tempering 
force  l>v  gentleness,  pv.  jscssed  one  of  the  tenderest  hearts  that  ever 
heat  Ijonciith  the  sky.  I  do  not  say  merely  a  warm  heart,  but  a 
feeling  heart,  with  tender  attai  huiciit>,  lively  emotion.;,  and  quick 


f 


^T.  38.1 


THE    WORK    AND    THE    MAN. 


05 


tude  to  God  for  the  grand  life  he  was  living, 
and  for  the  hope  of  iiiiniortality  which  he  pos- 
sessed, and  we  have  at  least  an  outline  of  the 
character  wjiich,  under  the  direction  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  made  Saul  of  all  men  "the  greatest  l)ene- 
factor  of  our  kind.'*  ^ 

Such,  then,  was  the  man  who  was  waiting  and 
working  at  Tarsus  ten  years  after  the  cruci- 
fixion of  Christ.  When,  therefore,  Barnabas, 
having  made  inquiry  as  to  Saul's  whereabouts, 
hurried  away  either  to  the  place  where  he  was 
preaching,  or  to  the  shop  where  possibly  he 
was  busy  making  and  mending  tents  out  of  the 
bristling  goats'  hair,  and,  having  come  in  where 
the  great  man  was  patiently  performing  the  task 
that  Divine  Wisdom  had  assigned  him,  looked 
into  his  face,  and  told  him  of  the  crowds  in 
Antioch  who  were  eager  to  hear  the  Gospel, 
Saul  recognized  the  well-known  voice  of  his 
friend  and  brother,  and  was  more  than  glad  to 
see  him.  At  the  same  time  he  welcomed  the 
call  to  a  larger  field  of  activity,  and  the  pros- 
pect of  speedier  and  more  abundant  results. 
By  ship  from  the  mouth  of  the  Cydiuis  to  Se- 
leucia,  or  by  foot  or  on  horseback  across  the 
plain  of  Cilicia  and  through  the  Syrian  Gates, 

to  weep;  —  so  far  \v;h  lii-;  ^rciitiioss  from  having  any  element  of 
pride,    or    his  enerjiy   unv   element  of    harslmc.-d."  —  Adolpue 
MoNoi):  "  Saint  Paul,"  n.  liO. 
i  Monod,  Ibid,  p.  14. 


96 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  44. 


1     '' 


I'    i 


ii   I 


they  made  all  haste  to  that  great  and  wicked 
city  where  the  power  of  Christ  had  been  mani- 
fested in  the  conversion  of  many  to  holy  and 
happy  lives.  This  is  the  second  time  that  Bar- 
nabas has  taken  Saul  by  the  hand  and  led  him 
up  to  a  higher  and  l^etter  work.  Into  the  life 
of  festering  immorality,  fashion,  gayety,  and 
iiTcligion,  where  every  avenue  was  lined  with 
the  plague-smitten  children  of  vice,  passed  the 
calm,  earnest  spirit  of  the  Greatest  Apostle,  with 
quick-seeing  eye,  with  ready  hand,  with  ear- 
nest life,  and  a  heart  beating  high  with  deter- 
mination to  bring  some  of  these  people  upon 
their  knees  into  the  presence  of  the  Great  Physi- 
cian and  Saviour  of  men. 

There  were  already  three  other  preachers  at 
Antioch  :  Lucius,  Manahem,  and  Simeon  Niger, 
about  whom  we  know  almost  nothing  except 
their  names,  and  that  Lucius  was  a  Jew  from 
Cyrene ;  Manahem,  probably  a  Jew,  who  had 
been  brought  up  in  the  household  of  King 
Herod  ;  and  that  these  three  were  the  recognized 
leaders  of  the  young  church.  They  were  quite 
readv,  however,  to  welcome  Saul  and  Barnabas 

4,       7  7  , 

as  helpers,  and,  indeed,  to  place  in  their  hands, 
as  long  as  they  remained  with  them,  the  man- 
agement of  the  affairs  of  their  community. 

We  can  readily  imagine  how  insignificant 
Lucius,  Manahem,  and  Simeon  Niger  must  have 


44. 


JEt.  38.] 


THE    WORK    AND    THE    MAN. 


97 


felt  themselves  to  be  in  the  presence  of  two 
such  towering  cliuracters  as  Barnabas  and  Saul. 
What  graciousness  of  speech,  what  courtesy  of 
manner  in  Barnabas !  AVhat  keen,  cogent 
argument,  what  torrent-like,  earnest  appeal  in 
Saul !  Saul  was  greatest  tiiere,  even  as  his 
subsequent  career  reveals. 

A  year  or  more  was  passed  in  Antioch,  the 
record  of  which,  with  the  exception  of  two  inci- 
dents, is  given  in  a  single  word,  '*  they  assembled 
themselves  with  the  church  and  taught  much 
people."  These  two  incidents,  though,  are 
vital. 

It  was  hero  in  Antioch  about  this  date, 
while  the  activity  of  the  disciples  of  Christ  was 
stih  ulated  by  the  presence  of  Barnabas  and 
Saul,  tnat  thev  received  for  the  first  time  that 
name  which  has  ever  since  stood  for  all  that  is 
greatest  and  best.  Up  to  this  point  they  had 
called  themselves  "  disciples,"  "  believers," 
"brethren,"  "saints,"  "holy  ones  of  the  way," 
that  is,  the  way  of  eternal  life.  The  unbeliev- 
ing Jews  had  flung  after  them  in  derision  the  de- 
spised title,  "Nazarene."  But  they  had  not  ye. 
received  their  new  name,  which  was  forever  ^ 
distinguish  the  followers  of  Christ  as  His  peculiar 
people.  It  is  remarkable  too  that  this  name,  the 
only  one  that  could  properly  characterize  the 
followers  of  Christ,  —  the  one  that  by  its  very 


It 


1)8 


LIFE   OF    PAT'L. 


[A. I).  44. 


ck'i'lvation  is  tJn'  ihihk'  wliioh  evcrv  Ix^liovcr 
jigrees  he  ought  to  ))o  knovni  hy,  —  should 
have  ])een  chosen  hy  the  sneering  vohi})tu{iries 
of  Antioch  to  dcscrihe  those  who  were 
always  talking  about  the  C/trisf.  Ponipey 
had  l)eon  in  Antioch,  and  his  followers 
were  called  Poiupelcoii.  The  party  of  Marius 
was  known  as  Mariani,  It  was  only  natural 
that  ti ose  who  called  Christ  Master  and  Lord 
should  he  hailed  Christlcn}!.  !' Not  in  Jeru- 
salem, the  city  of  the  old  Covenant,  the  city  of 
the  people  who  were  chosen  to  the  exclusion  of 
all  others,  but  in  a  heathen  city,  the  Eastern 
centre  of  Greek  fashion  and  Roman  luxury,  and 
not  till  it  was  shown  that  the  New^  Covenant  was 
inclusive  of  all  others,  —  then  and  there  we  were 
first  called  Christians,  and  the  church  received 
from  tlie  world  its  true  and  honorable  name."^ 
But  the  disciples  were  slow  to  adopt  the  new 
name.  Only  twice  is  it  used  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, and  in  both  cases  as  applied  to  the 
disciples  by  those  who  w^ere  not  Christians 
themselves.^ 

The  other  incident  illustr.ates  the  spirit  of 
benevolence  which  from  the  first  moved  the 
early  Christians.  Among  those  who  from  time 
to  time  visited  Antioch  from  Jerusalem  was  a 

iConybeare   and    Howson:    "  St.  Paul,"  i.  120. 
2  Acts  xxvi.  28 ;  1  Pet.  4  ;  IG. 


•Kt.  ;::i.l 


THK    WORK.    AND   THE    MAS'. 


!>9 


Christian  Jew,  whose  name  was  Agu])us.     This 
A<^ahus  was  a   propliet,  who  1)V  divine  inspira- 


tion was  able  to  read  in  advance  the  signs  of  the 
times,  and  he  urged  upon  tlie  attention  of 
Barnal)as  and  Saul  and  the  rest  the  fact  that  a 
famine  was  to  occur  over  all  the  world,  and 
that  the  disciples  at  .Jerusalem  were  likely  to 
suffer  from  the  hard  times  certain  to  attend 
it.  This  startling  i)rediction  would  not  fall  in 
very  naturally  with  the  habits  and  customs  of 
luxurious  and  extravagant  peoj)le  like  those  in 
the  Syrian  ca[)ital.  It  is  all  the  more  remark- 
able, therefore,  that  the  hearts  of  these  Christians 
were  moved  at  once  to  make  up  a  generous 
collection,  and  to  send  it  to  Jerusalem,  so  as  to 
anticipate  the  distress  that  might  otherwise 
come  ui)on  their  brethren  there.  The  church  at 
Jerusalem  had  almost  impoverished  itself  by  its 
generosity  in  formei  years.  They  had  given 
all  they  possessed  to  promote  the  spread  of 
the  Gospel ;  and  the  Christians  at  Antioch  Avere 
now  reaping  blessings  from  the  seed  of  that 
self-sacrifice.  It  was  onl}'  just  that  —  "every 
man  according  to  his  ability  "  —  they  should  out 
of  their  abundance,  (for  many  of  them  no  doubt 
were  wealthy),  send  alms  to  Jerusalem.  This 
was  a  work,  too,  into  which  Saul  must  have 
entered  with  all  his  heart,  for  he  was  not 
merely  a  preacher  of  doctrines.     With  all  his 


I 


1/ 


100 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


.  [A.D.  45. 


eagerness  to  persuade  tlie  people  to  believe  on 
Chri.sf,  lie  never  ceased  to  remind  them  that 
they  m list  add  to  their  faith  virtuous  and  honest 
and  truthful  lives,  and  that  they  should,  even  as 
C.'hrist  did,  deny  themselves  in  order  to  do  good 
to  otliers.  Saul  connnenced  here  at  Antioch 
what  hr  continued  all  throuiifh  his  life  as  a  mis- 
sionary,  — the  work  of  collecting  money  from 
those  who  could  give  it,  and  of  redistributing  it 
to  those  who  were  in  need.  To  him  alone  we 
owe  the  jireservation  of  those  precious  words  of 
our  Saviour,  "  //  is  more  blessed  to  (five  than  to 
receive.''^  • 

The  collection  was  made,  —  possibly  not  all 
at  once  ;  perhaps  on  the  first  day  of  every  week, 
as  they  met  to  worship,  something  was  added  to 
it,  —  and  then  Barnabas  and  Saul  were  chosen 
to  take  it  to  Jerusalem. 

The  two  apostles  reached  Jerusalem  at  a  time 
when  the  church  there  was  in  greater  troul)le 
than  would  be  caused  hy  scarcity  of  money  or 
even  of  food.  That  Herod  who,  at  the  height 
of  his  glory,  fell  a  prey  to  a  loathsome  disease 
and  sudden  death  soon  after  at  Caesarea,  had 
just  celebrated  his  unprincipled  devotion  to  the 
religion  of  the  Jews  by  beheading  one  of  the 
most  active  of  the  Apostles,  James,  the  older 
of  the  sons  of  Zebedee,  who  with  his  brother 

1  Acts.  XX.  35. 


V 


Mr.  39.1 


THE    WOUK    AND   THE   MAN. 


101 


John  had  l)eeii  ji  follower  of  Christ  ever  since 
they  were  first  culled  while  Hshing  on  the  Lake 
of  Galilee,  seventeen  years  before.  It  was  at 
the  Passover;  and  James  and  Peter,  who 
ordinarily  may  have  been  preaching  through 
tlie  towns  of  Palestine,  have  come  to  Jeru- 
salem to  observe  the  feast,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  address  the  people  as  they  could  find  oppor- 
tunity. Herod  also  was  there  to  attend  the 
festival.  Something,  perhaps,  that  this  "  Son 
of  Thunder"  said  vexed  the  king.  His  ven- 
geance was  swift  and  keen  and  terrible.  Peter, 
too,  the  "  Rockman,"  he  would  dispose  of.  Him 
he  threw  into  prison,  —  it  was  an  afterthought, 
—  intending,  as  soon  as  the  Passover  was  cele- 
brated, to  put  him  to  death  also.  But  Peter 
was  delivered  by  divine  interposition.  The 
tears  of  the  church,  however,  did  not  cease  to 
fall  for  the  memory  of  the  zealous  James. 

Barnabas  had  an  aunt,^  Mary,  living  in  the 
city.  She  was  a  godly  ^voman,  and  one  of 
the  most  active  members  of  the  band  of 
Christian  disciples.  She  seems  to  have  used 
her  wealth  with  the  same  generosity  that  her 
nephew  had  used  his  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Christian  work.     Her  house  was  open   at  all 


I  The"NewVcrsion,"  — Col.iv.  10;  Lewin,  ii.  272;  Farrar,  i. 
358,  agree  in  calling  Barnabas  aud  Mark  "  cousins."  Howson  and 
Hackett  are  undecided 


102 


LirE    OF   I'AUL. 


[A.D.  45. 


i    I 


hours,  aiiu  to  her  door,  therefore,  the  steps 
of  Barnjibas  and  Saul  would  be  most  likely 
to  turn  on  their  arrival  at  Jerusalem.  Here 
too  was  another  young  Christian,  her  son, 
Mark ;  and  at  this  time  of  persecution  many 
trembling  followers  of  Christ  Ifad  come  to- 
gether at  this  house  to  s.^engthen  each  other 
by  one  another's  presence,  and  to  pray  together 
for  deliverance  from  the  cruelty  of  the  t^jfint 
king.  It  was  while  they  ^vere  praying  —  and 
it  is  not  improbable  that  Saul  and  Barnabas  w^ere 
there  with  them  —  that  Petev  knocked  for  ad- 
mission,  and  after  relating  to  them  how  he  was 
delivered  from  prison,  and  telling  them  to  make 
his  escape  known  to  James,  the  pastor  of  the 
church,  and  the  rest,  left  the  city. 

So  fiir  as  we  know,  Saul  and  Barnabas,  very 
soon  after  delivering  the  alms  they  came  to 
bring,  returned  to  Antioch  and  took  ^lark  with 
them,  his  anxious  mother  no  doubt  verv  willing 
that  her  son  should  go  away  with  his  older 
cousin  Barnabas,  for  a  while  at  least,  until  the 
lives  of  Christian  men  should  be  safe  in  Jeru- 
salem. 


\ 


t  ?' 


U 


mr* 


i 


PART   SECOND. 


SHe  ^IvBt  ^issiomv^'^onvmnj. 


f 


l\ 


m 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  START. 

"  Men  of  a  thousand  shifts  and  wiles,  look  here ! 

See  one  straightforward  conscience  put  in  pawn 
To  win  a  world ;  see  the  ohedient  sphere 

By  bravery's  simple  gravitation  drawn." — 

J.  R.  LOWELI. 

•*  A  flash  of  light  from  Syria,  illuminating  almost  at  once  the 
three  great  peninsulas  of  Asia  Minor,  Greece,  and  Italy,  and  soon 
followed  by  a  second,  which  extended  over  nearly  the  whole  Medi- 
terranean seaboard, —  such  was  the  first  apparition  of  Christianity." 

Rbnan. 

"  That  noble  missionary  river,  whose  streams  are  now  fertilizing 
the  world,  had  its  little  fountain-head  in  Antioch." — 

J.  R.  Macduff. 

O  OME  +ime  after  Barnabas  and  Saul  had  re- 
*^  turned  to  Antioch,  at  a  special  service*  of 
prayer  and  fasting,  the  Holy  Spirit  brought  to 
the  minds  of  the  Christians  present  the  convic- 
tion that  these  two  men  ought  to  go  away  to 
preach  the  Gospel  to  the  Gentiles.  The  mother- 
church  at  Jerusalem  had  been  the  means  of 
spreading  the  Gospel  in  Palestine  and  even  to 
Antioch ;  but  her  powers  early  began  to  wane. 
It  was  reserved  for  the  Syrian  capital  to  become 

1  Farrar,  I.  324. 


VM 


,..<'■-, 


i!! 


V   \ 


/ 


106 


LIFE    OF  PAUL. 


[A.D.  46. 


"the  starting-point  of  Christian  missions,  and 
for  the  first  century  their  head(iuarters."^  Ac- 
cordingly we  read  that,  "when  they  had  fasted 
and  prayed,  and  laid  their  hands  on  them,  they 
sent  them  away." 

It  was  not  a  great  event  to  the  people  of  An- 
tioch.2  The  Christians  in  the  city  would  miss 
the  two  great  Apostles,  and  at  the  same  time 
would  exult  that  they  had  gone  to  carry  the 
"  glad  tidings  "  to  other  peoples  ;  but  to  the  gay 
and  worldly  heathen  the  departure  from  their 
city  of  two  men  who  had  been  spending  a  y«ar 
or  two  there,  advocating  the  claims  of  a  crucified 
Jew,  would  be  an  entirely  insignificant  matter. 
Mark  went  with  his  cousin  Barnabas ;  and  we 
can  easily  imagine  them  taking  leave  of  Lucius, 
Menahem,  Niger,  and  the  rest,  starting  out, 
probably  on  foot,  crossing  the  bridge  which 
spanned  the  Otrontes,  and  following  the  regular 
highway  over  the  hills,  twelve  or  fifteen  miles 
down  to  Seleucia  by  the  sea,  where  they  were  to 
embark  for  Cyprus. 

What  are  these  men  undertaking?  Do  they 
know  how  desperately''  wicked  the  cities  and 
towns  are,  and  how  the  people  everywhere  are 
worshipping  gods  of  wood  and  stone  and  brass 

1  Renan :  "  Apostles,"  43. 

2  •'  They  left  Autioch  with  no  flourish  of  tnunpets ;  but  with  the 
calm  earuestness  of  thoughtful  men."  —  W.  M.  Taylor:  '*  Paul 
the  Missionary,"  p.  90. 


f 


i«HMI 


ma 


I 


JEt.  40.1 


THfi   START. 


107 


and  gold  ?  Yes ;  and  because  they  know  it, 
they  are  eager  to  tell  the  people  about  the  true 
God  and  of  a  better  way  of  life. 

The  populations  of  the  various  parts  of  the 
Roman  empire  in  the  first  century  were  perhaps 
the  most  corrupt  that  have  ever  existed.  Almost 
the  universal  drift  was  in  the  wrong  direction. 
Politics  was  a  trade,  at  which  men  served  as 
brief  an  apprenticeship  as  possible,  to  learn 
how  to  snatch  most  of  the  spoils.  Art  was  de- 
graded into  sensualism,  and  religion  was  made 
a  slave  in  chains,  and  compelled  to  perform  the 
debasing  services  of  unchastity  and  infanticide. 
We  have  seen  what  the  moral  condition  was  in 
Damascus  and  Antioch  in  the  East,  and  the  cities 
of  the  West  were  not  perceptibly  better.  "  The 
western  regions,  towards  which  the  course  of 
missions  took  its  way,  were  prevalently  Greek/ 
and  Roman  ;  but  it  was  a  conquered  Greece  and 
a  coiTupted  Rome.  It  was  a  Greece  which  had 
lost  its  genius  and  retained  its  falsity ;  a  Rome 
which  had  lost  its  simplicity  and  retained  its 
coarseness.  It  was  Greece  in  her  lowest  stage 
of  seducer  and  parasite ;  it  was  Rome  at  the  / 
epoch  of  her  most  gorgeous  gluttonies  and 
her  most  gilded  rottenness."  ^  It  is  not  im- 
probable that  there  were  exceptions  to  the 
general  degradation  of  morals.      Indeed,  his- 

1  Farrar,  i.  331.  * 


y 


it 


108 


LIFE  OF  PAUL. 


[A.D.  46. 


tory  is  not  wholly  barren  of  the  names  of 
both  men  and  women  who  were  high-minded 
and  pure,  so  that  while  the  majorities  every- 
where "had  sounded  the  lowest  depths  of  in- 
famy," '  there  were  some  rare  souls  in  whom 
"good  nature,  conjugal  fidelity,  probity,  and 
the  domestic  virtues "  ^  might  be  found ;  but 
there  were  not  many  such.  The  people  who 
retained  most  of  morality  and  sobriety  in  the 
l'^  general  looseness  were  undoubtedly  the  Jews, 
who  were  scattered  in  every  city  and  town  of 
the  empire. 

/  The  Jew  had  his  faults.  He  was  bigoted,  ex- 
[/  elusive,  niggardly,  ignorant,  possibly  supersti- 
tious ;  at  the  same  time  he  was  but  very  rarely 
a  murderer,  an  adulterer  or  a  glutton.  He  was 
proud  of  his  rigid  adherence  to  the  Mosaic  law, 
and  of  his  faith  in  an  absolutely  holy  God,  whom 
he  could  not  see.  "It  was  his  object  to  keep 
himself  puro,  so  fiir  as  ho  possibly  could,  from 
all  ceremonial,  as  well  as  from  all  moral  cor- 
ruption." ^  Jewish  colonists  were  looked  upon 
with  aversion.  Greeks,  Eomans,  and  Syrians 
alike,  hated  the  very  sight  of  them.  Still 
they  maintained  their  separate,  independent 
existence  and  worship,  uttering  thereby  their 
eternal   protest    against   the    unchaste    misce- 

1  Renan :  "  Apostles,"  160. 

2  Rawlinson ;  "  Paul  in  Damascus,"  p.  52. 


^T.  40.] 


THE   START. 


109 


[ 


genation,   and  the  sensuous   religious  rites  of 
paganism. 

We  mus    not  forget  that  Barnabas  and  Saul 
are   Jews,    "  two    poor  Jews,"  *    "of   obscure 
name,  of  no  position,  without  rank,  without  in- 
fluence."   Naturally  they  would  have  felt  just  as 
other  Jews  felt  toward  Gentiles.     They  would 
neither  have  mingled  with  them  nor  have  cared 
for  their  conversion.     But  these  apostles  were 
no  longer  the  members  of  a  mere  Jewish  sect, 
bigoted   and  exclusive,   but    the   disciples   of 
the  Son  of  Man,  whose  mission  was  to  save  all 
men  ;  and  in  both  mind  and  heart  they  had  em- 
braced the  idea  of  the  brotherhood  of  humanity. 
They  went  out,  therefore,  to  preach  the  Gospel 
to  men,  not  to  Jews  alone.     It  may  be  true  as 
Renan  suggests  that,  "the  Christian  preaching 
seems  to  have  followed  a  road  already  laid  out, 
and  which  is  no  other  than  that  of  the  Jewish 
emigration,"  ^  but  it  would  have  been  equally 
true  if  the  Apostles  had  gone  into  Syria,  Ara- 
bia, and  Egypt,  instead  of  into  Asia  Minor, 
Greece,  and  Italy ;  for  there  were  Jewish  com- 
munities wherever  there  were  people  of  other 
nationalities ;  and  the  result  proves  that  Saul 
and  Barnabas  found  it  more  difficult  to  persuade 
their  own  brethren  to  believe  in  Christ  than 
they  did  to  persuade  Gentiles. 


1  Fan-ar,  I.  337 ;  Ibid,  333. 


2  << 


Apostles,"  240. 


m  I 


110 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  46. 


For  these  apostles  were  Jews,  but  perverts  ; 
Jews,  but  schismatics,  who  preached  that  the 
great  Kabbis  and  the  High  Priest  at  Jerusalem 
had  profaned  the  Holy  City  by  putting  to  death 
the  ^Messiah.  This  would  render  them  odious  to 
the  very  orthodox  Jews.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  fact  that  they  were  Jews  would  only  midve 
it  rnore  difficult  for  them  to  address  Gentiles, 
and  that,  all  the  more,  because  they  were  travel- 
ling: as  reli<;ious  teachers.  It  is  well  known 
that  the  women  of  those  times,  as  of  any  cor- 
rupt age,  were  the  greatest  sufferers ;  and  that 
quite  frequently  one  of  these,  whose  life  had  be- 
come burdensome  under  the  defilements  of 
paganism,  would  take  refuge  in  the  arms  of  the 
comparatively  pure,  at  least  virtuous,  Judaism.^ 
This  "  was  an  open  condemnation  of  the  men, 
who  adhered  to  the  old  religion  as  shameless 
profligates,"  2  and  would  naturally  aggravate  their 
hatred,  especially  against  Jews  like  the  apostles, 
whose  declared  purpose  it  was  to  draw  whom- 
ever they  could  out  of  "  that  vast  weltering 
mass  of  idolatry  and  corruption,"^  to  believe  in 
the  Christ  whom  they  preached. 

As  we  shall  see,  however,  there  is  one  fact 
that  secured  to  Barnabas  and  Saul,  and  after- 

'  Rawlinson :  "  St.  Paul  in  Damascus,"  71 ;  Conybeare  and 
Howson,  I.  194. 

2  Rawliusou  :  "  St.  Paul  in  Damascus,"  72.       3  Farrar,  i.  329. 


s 


I 


a 


r 


Mr.  40.] 


THE   START. 


Ill 


ward  to  Saul  alone,  or  with  Luke  and  Silas, 
an  opportunity  to  reach  the  people  with  the 
Gospel  everywhere  in  the  Konian  eini)ire.  That 
empire,  in  granting  liberty  of  thought  and 
speech,  had  done  what  the  old  kingdoms  had 
never  permitted.  Scientific,  philosophic,  and 
religious  opinions  were  held  and  taught  with 
entire  freedom,  so  far  as  the  Roman  law  was 
concerned.'  So  the  Apostles,  although  fre- 
quently set  upon  by  Jews,  alwa^  s  felt  sure  of 
the  protection  of  the  Roman  oflScials,  at  least  so 
far  as  those  oflBcials  were  uncorrui)ted  by  bribery 
or  popularity.  It  was  only  years  afterward, 
when  Christianity  came  into  conflict  with  prac- 
tical politics,  that  Christians  were  persecuted, 
not  for  their  faith,  but  for  the  political  attitude\/ 
which  they  were  obliged  to  assume. 

If  now  we  take  all  this  into  consideration, — 
how  much  wickedness  there  was,  how  few  per- 
sons there  were  who  were  dissatisfied  with 
their  condition,  how  diflScult  it  was  to  gain 
access  to  that  few,  and  if  we  remember  the 
hardships  of  travelling  in  those  days,  and  the 
dangers  hy  sea  and  by  land,  —  is  it  not  remark- 
able that  these  two  Jews  should  start  out  "  on 
foot,  staff  in  hand,  to  convert  the  world  to 
Christ? "2  They  must  have  been  brave  men; 
but   more,   they   were  divinely  commissioned. 


L/' 


>  Renan:  "Apostles,"  259. 


»  Fanar,  i.  337. 


vv^r- 


112 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  46. 


Saul  hiid  been  waiting  (with  what  holy  impa- 
tience!) these  four  years  for  the  fulfilment  of 
that  promise  made  to  him  in  Jerusalem,  "I  will 
send  thee  far  hence  unto  the  Gentiles."^  He 
knew  the  difficulties ;  but  they  did  not  terrify 
him.  All  the  more  need  why  the  Gospel 
should  be  preached.  He  was  like  the  racer 
who  sees  the  crown  at  the  goal,  3'et  is  kept 
chafing  behind  the  barrier.  But  now  the  word 
has  been  spc  ken,  and  with  an  eager  bound  he 
enters  the  course,  from  this  time  to  keep  "  reach- 
ing forth  unto  those  things  which  are  before," 
until  he  receives  the  incorruptible  crown. ^ 
\  Seleucia,  to  which  they  came,  was  one  of  the 
best  and  busiest  ports  of  the  Mediterranean. 
It  was  five  miles  north  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Orontes,  close  to  the  shore,  clustering  around 
the  base,  and  climbing  up  the  slopes  of  Mount 
Coryphaeus,  the  steep  heights  of  which  over- 
hung the  city.  The  harbor  was  entirely  arti- 
ficial, and  consisted  of  an  inner  "basin,"  cover- 
ing about  fifty  acres,  and  an  outer  one  of  less 
extent,  protected  by  two  magnificent  piers,  ex- 
tending into  the  sea,  and  at  the  outer  extremity 
meeting  and  overlapping  each  other,  but  so  as 
to  allow  vessels  to  enter.  It  is  a  curious  fact 
that  one  of  these  piers — the  ruins  only  remain 


1  Acts  xxii.  2L 


2  Phil.  iii.  13. 


11 


* 


Mj.iO.] 


THE    START. 


113 


—  is  called  by  the  name  of  Saul,  while  the  other 
bears  the  name  of  Barnabas.^ 

Inside  the  harbor,  sheltered  from  the  inces- 
sant surge  of  the  sea,  rode  "many  gallant 
vessels  from  all  parts  of  the  Mediterranean,"  ^ 
while  on  the  wharves,  lined  with  storehouses, 
might  have  been  heard  "  the  din  of  commerce " 
in  a  Babel  of  tongues  ;  for  Seleucia,  as  already 
observed,  was  one  of  the  principal  seaports  of 
the  Mediterranean,  located  on  the  direct  line  of 
communication  from  the  East  to  the  West,  —  a 
line  which  commerce  in  our  own  day  has  pro- 
posed to  re-open  by  rail  through  the  valleys  of 
the  Orontes  and  the  Euphrates. 

The  missionaries  did  not  delay  here  longer 
than  was  necessary  to  find  among  the  outward- 
bound  vessels  one  that  was  going  to  Cyprus, 
for  they"  had  decided  to  make  that  island  their 
immediate  destination.  We  do  not  read  of 
their  preaching  at  Seleucia  at  all.  Therefore > 
we  may  be  sure,  that  their  stay  was  brief.  But 
now  the  two  brave  men  stand  upon  the  deck, 
the  moorings  are  cast  oflf,  the  prow  turns  away 
to  the  southwest,  "the  apostolic  barque  has 
spread  her  sails ;  the  wind  breathes  low,  and 
only  aspires  to  bear  upon  its  wings  the  words 
of  Jesus ; "  ^  the  treacherous  sea  is  kind,  and 


»  Malleson :  "  St.  Paul,"  130. 

a  Macduff:  ♦•  Footsteps  of  St.  Paul,"  106. 


'  Farrar,  i.  338. 


114 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  46, 


bears  them  swiftly  away  from  the  shores  of 
Syria.  The  mountains  astern  sink  gradually  to 
the  horizon,  while  in  the  distance  the  hills  of 
Cyprus  rise  above  the  cloud-banks  to  extend 
their  welcome  to  these  godly  men  who  come, 
not  to  erect  new  altars  upon  them,  but  to  plant 
here  the  Christian  standard,  and  unfurl  the 
banner  of  the  King  of  Peace.  The  vessel  speeds 
on  past  Cape  Andre.'is,  the  northeastern  extrem- 
ity of  the  island, — a  quick  run  of  a  few  hours 
between  dawn  and  sunset  from  Seleucia,'  — and 
soon  its  keel  touches  the  sandy  shore  in  front  of 
Salamis,  and  "the  second  idyl  of  Christianity " 
is  commenced. 

1  The  distance  from  Seleucia  to  Salamis  is  about  one  hundred 
miles. 

2  "The  Lake  of  Tiberias  and  its  fishing-banks  had  furnished  the 
first.  Now  a  more  powerful  breeze,  aspirations  towards  more  dis- 
tant lands,  draw  us  into  the  open  sea."  —  Renan  :  "  St.  Paul," 
p.  36. 


tl 


M 


CHAPTER  IX. 


CYPRUS. 


"  Know  ye  the  land  where  the  cypress  and  myrtle 
Arc  emblems  of  deeds  that  are  done  in  their  clime ; 
Where  the  rage  of  the  vulture,  the  love  of  the  turtle. 
Now  melt  into  sorrow,  now  madden  to  crime."  —  Byron. 

"  During  the  generation  which  elapsed  from  the  year  35  to  the 
year  65,  the  Roman  empire  was  sown  with  a  seed  of  eternal  life, 
wliich  comprehends  the  germ  of  a  total  revolution,  not  only  moral, 
but  domestic,  civil,  political,  and  even  material."  —  Adolphe 
MONOD. 

"  For  first  must  die  in  him  the  man  called  Saul, 
That  grace  supreme  might  live  and  reign  in  Paul." 

IT  must  have  been  with  peculiar  interest  that 
Barnabas  and  Mark  greeted  the  first  distinct 
view  of  Cyprus ;  for  it  was  the  native  place  of 
the  former,'  and  probably  thej'  both  had  rela- 
tives still  living  there.  Indeed,  this  may  have 
been  the  reason  why  Cyprus  was  selected  as  the 
first  place  to  which  the  missionaries  should  go  ; 
although  it  is  probable  that  the  facts,  that  it  was 
one  of  the  nearest  points  accessible,  that  there 
were  already  a  few  Christians  there  and  many 
Jews,  and  that  vessels  were  likely  to  have  been 
passing  frequently  between  the  island  and  Se- 


1  Acta  V.  36, 


116 


i 


116 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  46. 


leucia,  aflford  suflScient  reason  for  the  first  apos- 
tolic journey  taking  this  direction. 

Within  a  few  years  the  world  has  taken  a 
new  interest  in  the  Island  of  Cyprus.  In  1878, 
through  the  shrewd  diplomacy  of  Lord  Bea- 
consfield,  it  became  a  dependency  of  the  British 
crown,  and  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  its  future 
fortunes  will  be  an  improvement  upon  the  uni- 
versal neglect  and  desolation  consequent  upon 
three  centuries  of  Turkish  misrule.  And,  even 
befoie  England  had  become  the  owner  of 
Cyprus,  popular  attention  had  been  called  to  it, 
by  the  excavations  and  discoveries  of  General 
di  Cesnola,  x'^.merican  consul,  whose  collection 
of  Cyprian  antiquities,  now  fortunately  ^  depos- 
ited in  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art  in  New 
York,  consisting  of  a  vast  quantity  of  Assyrian, 
Phoenician,  Cypriote,  and  Greek  inscriptions, 
coins,  vases,  statues,  bas-reliefs,  sarcophagi, 
engraved  gems,  amulets,  terra-cotta  lamps,  and 
a  great  variety  of  ornaments  in  gold,  silver, 
copper,  bronze,  alabaster,  and  rock-cry stal,^ 
reveals  the  history  of  ages  of  ancient  prosperity 
and  civilization. 

The  general  features  of  the  island  were  the 
same  when  Saul  and  Barnabas  landed  on  the 
pier  at  Salamis  as  they  are  to-day.     The  coast- 

1  A  writer  Id  the  Encyclopsedia  Britannioa,  •'  Cyprus,"  saya  "  un- 
fortunately." 2  Cesnolu'S)  *'  Cyprus,"  p.  453. 


•J 


/ 


Mt.  40.] 


CYPRUS. 


117 


line  was  the  same,  as  were  also  the  mountain 
ranges,  the  valleys,  and  the  rivers.  But  the 
mountain  sides,  and  all  the  central  portion  of 
the  island  were,  in  those  days,  covered  with 
dense  forests,  while  the  lowlands  between  the 
mountains  and  the  sea  teemed  with  luxuriant 
vegetation.  There  were  rich  copper  and  silver 
mines  here,  which,  it  is  quite  probable,  have  not 
yet  been  exhausted.  The  forests  for  many 
years  supplied  the  Greeks  with  timber  for 
ship-building, — much  of  which,  it  is  only  fair 
to  presume,  may  have  been  carried  on  upon 
the  banks  of  the  Pedaeus  at  Salamis.  There 
was,  in  Saul's  day,  only  one  other  city  on 
Cyprus  besides  Salamis,  namely,  Paphos,  at 
the  western  end,  although  there  were  a  number 
of  small  towns  and  villages.^  The  inhabitants 
of  the  island  were,  in  the  main,  Greeks.  These 
constituted  the  permanent  population.  A  con- 
siderable number  of  Jews,^  however,  resided  here 
with  more  or  less  permanency,  but  without  be- 
coming a  constituent  part  of  the  body  politic. 

Venus,  "Aphrodite  Anadyomene,"  had  for 
many  generations  been  the  embodiment  of  all 
that  was  divine  to  the  Cyprians.     Hither,  as, 

"From  the  sea 
She  rose  and  floated  in  her  pearly  shell, 
A  laughing  girl,"  8 


1  Lewin,  i.  120. 

•  Homer,  quote  J  by  Farrar,  i.  349. 


3  Acts  xiii.  6. 


I   !.i 


} 


i 


Mi 


118 


LIFE  OF  Paul. 


[A.D.  48. 


she  came ;  and  here,  in  one  of  the  groves  of  the 
Cyprian  Olympus,  was  "the  most  famous  of 
her  temples," — the  chief  "  of  all  the  luxurious 
bowers  devoted  to  her  worship."^  This  was  at 
Paphos,  and  accordingly  in  this  city  the  annual 
festival  and  procession  in  her  honor  was  cele- 
brated. But  the  worship  of  Venus  did  not 
promote  virtue.  The  moral  atmosphere  of 
Cyprus  was  little  better  than  that  of  Antioch, 
whose  religious  rites  were  presided  over  by  the 
voluptuous  Daphne.^ 

Our  three  missionaries,  leaving  the  vessel  at  the 
dock,  entered  the  streets  of  Salamis.  Barna- 
bas knew  the  way,  and  soon  found  acquaint- 
ances, to  whom  he  introduced  Saul  and  his 
cousin  Mark.  On  the  Sabbath  they  went  to 
worship ;  and  all  that  we  know  of  their  stay  or 
doings  in  the  city  is  summed  up  in  one  sen- 
tence, "  They  preached  the  word  of  God  in  the 
synagogues  of  the  Jews."  ^  From  this,  however, 
we  discover  that  there  were  Jews  enough  in 
Salamis  to  require  more  than  one  synagogue, 
and  also,  inferentially,  that  at  this  beginning  of 
their  work,  the  apostles  limited  their  preaching 
to  the  Jews.     They  may  have  remained  there 

1  Lewin,  i.  120. 

2  "  The  pictures  which  they  [i.  e.  Herodotus  and  later  historians] 
draw  of  the  fjrand  festival  to  the  goddess  at  Paphos  leave  little  for 
the  imajfination  of  man  to  invent,  one  would  think,  in  the  way  of 
gross  indulgence. "  —  Cesnola's  "  Cyprus,"  p.  8. 

B  Acts  xiii.  5. 


¥3 

11 


^T.  40.) 


CYPRUS. 


119 


days,  weeks,  or  months.  It  is  stated,  in  this 
connection,  that  they  had  John  (Mark)  as 
their  minister ;  and  this  has  been  understood  to 
imply  that  there  may  have  been  many  converts, 
to  l)aptizc  whom  was  the  duty  of  Mark.^ 

When  they  left  Salamis,  they  would  naturally 
turn  their  faces  toward  the  southwest,  and,  pass- 
ing through  "a  widespread  plain,  with  corn- 
lields  and  orchards,"  ^  would  stop  at  the  first  town 
or  village  to  which  they  came  to  preach  the 
good  news  of  the  Gospel.  In  this  way,  pass- 
ing from  town  to  town,  "  they  went  throughout 
the  whole  of  the  island,"^  until  they  finally 
reached  the  capital,  Paphos,  which  by  the 
direct  road  was  not  more  than  a  hundred 
miles  from  Salamis. 

The  Roman  governor  of  Cyprus,  Sergius 
Paulus,  resided  at  Paphos.  He  was  an  acute  and 
intelligent  official,  who,  in  addition  to  attending 
to  the  affairs  of  his  province,  was  accustomed 
to  break  up  the  monotony  of  this  insular  resi- 
dence by  investigating  the  claims  of  philoso- 
phy and  religion ;  *  though,  up  to  the  time  of  our 

1  Farrar,  i.  345 ;  Lewin,  i.  127 ;  Conybeare  and  Howson,  i.  141 ; 
Hackett:  Com.  on  Acts,  xiii.  5. 

2  Conybeare  and  Howson,  1. 140. 
8  Lewiu,  I.  127. 

*  They  found  the  proconsul,  Sergius  Paulus,  a  man  dissatisfied 
with  all  that  philosophy  and  the  popular  religion  could  offer  for  his 
religious  wants,  and  anxiou"  to  receive  everything  which  pre- 
sented itself  as  a  new  eounnunication  from  Heaven."  —  Nbander, 
•'  Planting  and  Training,"  p.  112. 


120 


LIFE   OF  PAUL. 


(A.D.  48. 


r 


history,  with  little  satisfaction.  This  "  prudent" 
Roman  kept  in  his  service  a  Jew,  —  one  of  those 
"wise  men,"  who  at  that  time  were  looked 
upon  as  possessing  more  than  human  wisdom  — 
whom,  no  doubt,  he  consulted  not  only  for 
amusement,  but  in  order  that  his  choices  and 
decisions  might  be  more  thoroughly  in  harmony 
with  the  purposes  of  the  gods.  This  "wise 
man  "  was  one  of  a  large  class  of  religious  im- 
postors, who  made  a  trade  of  revealing,  as  they 
pretended,  things  which  common  mortals  could 
not  otherwise  find  out.  Their  methods  were  as 
various  as  their  names,  —  "  augurs,  haruspices, 
Babylonians,  mathematici,  astrologers,  magi- 
ans,  soothsayers,  casters  of  horoscopes,  fortune- 
tellers, ventriloquists,  dream-interpreters,"  ^  and 
they  were  employed  and  consulted  on  all  occa- 
sions in  which  issues  of  sufficient  importance 
were  involved ;  and  by  all  classes,  from  the 
maid  who  dropped  a  farthing  into  the  "wise 
man's "  palm  to  have  her  fortune  told,  to  the 
Emperor  surrounded  by  his  "  herd  of  Chal- 
deans," listening  to  some  "divine  revelation"  in 
regard  to  matters  of  imperial  policy.  So  that 
we  are  not  to  condemn  Sergius  Paulus  without 
reserve  because  he  kept  hanging  about  him  this 
man  Bar- Jesus.  In  later  times,  every  one  who 
could  afford  the  expense,  kept  a  court-fool.     At 


1  Fanar,  i.  351. 


^T.  40.] 


CYPRUS. 


121 


that  time,  rich  and  influential  heathen  retained  a 
"  court  wise  man."  At  any  rate,  this  governor  of 
Cyprus  was  evidently  not  a  slave  of  that  fanatic 
faith  which, 

"  Once  wedded  fast 
To  some  dear  falsehood,  hugs  it  to  the  bst"  ^ 

No  sooner  had  he  heard  of  Barnabas  and 
Saul  preaching  in  the  synagogues  and  possibly 
in  the  streets^  of  his  capital  than,  hoping  that 
these  men  might  have  some  new  truth  to  tell 
him  in  addition  to  the  miserably  insignificant 
tale  which  he  had  drawn  out  of  Bar- Jesus,  he 
sent  a  messenger,  bidding  them  come  to  his  resi- 
dence, and  then  invited  them  to  speak  to  him 
"  the  word  of  God."  This  they  did,  and  suc- 
cessfully. Bar- Jesus,  however,  or  Ely  mas,  as 
he  called  himself,  thinking,  just  as  many  another 
man  has,  that  a  more  honorable  name  would  add 
to  his  dignity,  had  no  intention  of  permitting 
Barn  has  and  Saul  to  be  preferred  to  himself  in 
the  good  graces  of  the  governor.  He  was  the 
private  religious  adviser  of  Sergius  Paulus,  had 
been  engaged  for  the  year  probably,  and  he  was 
eager,  with  an  impostor's  headlong  zeal,  to  retain 
the  position  he  had  gained.  With  all  the  arts 
of  his  trade  and  force  of  bitter  denunciation  he 
tried  to  silence  the  apostles,  and  to  persuade  the 

1  Thos.  Moore :  "  Lalla  Rookh." 

a  Macduflf :  '•  Footsteps  of  St.  Paul,"  p.  108. 


I  i 


122 


LIFE    OF    PAUL. 


[A.I>.  46. 


governor  that  this  new  religion  was  false,  and 
that  the  way  of  truth  lay  with  him  and  his  sor- 
ceries. But  Saul  —  not  Barnabas  —  here  Saul, 
for  the  first  time,  stands  out  alone  as  the  cham- 
pion of  the  faith.  And  it  is  just  at  this  point 
that  Luke  drops  the  name,  Saulf  and  henceforth 
calls  the  great  Apostle  by  his  new  name,  Paul.' 
Paul,  full  of  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God, 
turned  upon  him  his  searching  glance,  and  Avith 
the  well-aimed  re))uke  of  his  indignation  crushed 
the  worthless,  wicked  coward.  Such  tremen- 
dous words,  spoken  face  to  tace,  have  rarely  been 
uttered :  "  O  full  of  all  guile  and  all  villany , 
thou  son  of  the  devil,  thou  enemy  of  all  right- 
eousness, wilt  thou  not  cease  to  pervert  the  right 
ways  of  the  Lord?  And  now,  behold  !  the  hand 
of  the  Lord  is  upon  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be 
blind,  not  seeing  the  sun  for  a  season."  The 
lips  of  Bar- Jesus  are  trembling  with  rage. 
He  will  fling  back  this  insult  to  his  dignity  as 
the  Magian  of  the  court  of  Sergius  Paulus.  But, 
alas !  true  to  Paul's  words,  a  misty  veil  floats 
before  his  eyes :  Paul,  Barnabas,  the  governor, 
the  hangings  of  the  walls,  all  fade  away  from 
his  vision ;  the  darlmess  which  only  the  blind 
know  thickens  about  him,  and  he  cries  for  some 
one  to  take  him  by  the  hand  and  lead  him  away. 
We  see  this  wretched  man  no  more  ;  but  we 
may  feel  sure  that  Paul  thought  of  him  with 

1  See  note  on  the  change  of  name  on  page  126. 


> 

VI 

H 

n 


^F^      Ji 


- 


'l  ■  '  i   i 


:  I' ' 


(yi 


iSUB 


JET.  40,] 


CYPRUS. 


125 


compassion,  and  regivtted  his  stubborn  opposi- 
tion to  the  truth,  which  made  this  severe  infliction 
necessary.  He  was  to  be  blind  only  "for  a 
season."  Let  us  hope  that  the  judgments  of 
(jod  led  him  to  repentance. 

The  miracle,  however,  produced  an  immediate 
effect  upon  the  mind  of  Sergius  Paulus.  He 
saw  the  minister  of  his  gods  instantaneously 
struck  blind  at  a  word  from  the  Apostle  of 
Christ ;  and  the  proof  was  efficient.  He 
believed.  Nor  do  we  hear  of  him  again.  Ces- 
nola  discovered  at  Soli  a  marble  slab  on  which 
this  man's  name  appears.'  We  have  reason  to 
hope  that  it  is  also  in  the  "  Book  of  Life." 

The  work  in  Cyprus  in  all  probability  had 
been  attended  with  encouraging  success ;  but 
it  was  never  Paul's  intention  to  remain  very 
long  in  any  one  place.  It  was  his  large  pur- 
pose to  visit  every  accessible  point  in  the  world 
with  his  message  of  truth.  So,  very  soon,  his 
urgent  spirit  is  looking  with  impatience  across 
the  water  to  the  shores  of  i^sia  Minor.  The 
three  men  are  ai>ain  stop})ing  from  the  dock ; 
the  cordage  rattles  ;  the  southern  breeze  fills  the 
sails ;  the  aposth^s  wav©  farewell  to  their  now- 
made  friends  at  Paphos ;  and,  after  a  few  hours' 
sail,  are  at  anchor  in  the  Cestrus,  before  Perga, 
the  capital  of  Pamphylia. 

1  •«  Cyprus,"  p.  229. 


126 


LIFE   OF  PAUL. 


[A.D.  46. 


Note.  —  Up  to  this  point  I  have  used  the  name  Saul. 
Hereafter  I  shall  speak  of  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles 
by  his  well-known  name,  Paul.  I  make  this  change  in 
the  name  simply  for  the  sake  of  conformity  lo  the  his- 
torian of  the  Acts  of  (he  Apostles,  who  uses  "Saul"  up 
to  this  circumstance  at  Paphos,  and  "  Paul "  invariably 
after  it.  As  to  the  actual  change  of  name  by  which  he 
was  called,  it  probably  did  not  occur  as  suddenly  as  the 
narrative  in  the  Acts  seems  to  imply.  It  is  not  remark- 
able, however,  that  he  should  have  two  names.  He  may 
have  borne  both  from  childhood,  —  Saul  Paul.  Why  not? 
His  early  associations  as  a  Jew  would  naturally  fix  upon 
him  that  name  of  the  two  which  was  more  peculiarly  Jew- 
ish, so  he  was  called  Saul  in  Tarsus  and  in  Jerusalem. 
But  now  he  has  ceased  to  be  merely  a  Jew.  Ho  sails  from 
Paphos  fully  committed  to  the  life  of  a  cosmopolitan ;  and 
the  cosmopolitan,  or,  what  was  the  same  in  that  age,  the 
Roman  name,  comes  into  use.  Farrar  quotes  a  sentence 
from  Augustine '  which  shows  how  the  change  of  name 
indicates  the  change  in  all  the  conditions  of  the  Apostle's 
life;  and  Howson,  in  a  striking  passage,  emphasizes  the 
reasons  why  the  use  of  the  new  name  was  commenced  at 
this  particular  point.^ 

1  " «  Paul  suffers  what  Saul  had  inflicted ;  Saul  stoned,  and  Paul 
was  stoned ;  Saul  inflicted  scourgings  on  Christians,  and  Paul  five 
times  received  forty  stripes  save  one ;  Saul  hunted  the  Church  of 
God,  Paul  was  let  down  in  a  basket ;  Saul  bound,  Paul  was  bound  ' " 
—  "St.  Paul,"  I.  356, 

2  "  '  The  heathen  name  rises  to  the  suiface  at  the  moment  when 
St.  Paul  visibly  enters  on  his  office  as  the  Apostle  of  the  Heathen. 
The  Roman  name  is  stereotyped  at  the  moment  when  he  converts 
the  Roman  governor.  And  the  place  where  this  occurs  is  Paphos, 
the  favorite  sanctuaiy  of  a  shameful  idolatiy.  At  the  veiy  spot 
which  was  notorious  throughout  the  world  for  that  which  the  Gos- 
pel forbids  and  destroys,  — there,  before  he  sailed  for  Perga,  hav- 
ing achieved  his  victory,  the  Apostle  erected  his  trophy,  as  Moses, 
when  Amalek  was  discomfited,  •  built  an  altar,  and  called  the  name 
of  it  Jehovah-Nissi,  —  the  Lord  my  Banner.' "  —  "  St.  Paul,"  1. 153. 


^.: 


CHAPTER  X. 


ANTIOCH  IN  PISIDIA. 


"  These  lingered  not  for  song  of  bird,  nor  stayed 
To  mark  what  hues  the  glittering  insect  glossed, 
That  dipt  across  their  path  from  sun  to  shade." 

Dora  Ureenwell. 

"  In  journeyings  often,  in  perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of  robbers, 
in  perils  by  mine  own  countrymen,  in  perils  by  the  heathen,  in 
perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness."  —  2  CoR.  xi.  26. 

^HE  Oestrus  was  the  highway  by  which 
-■-  Paul  the  missionary  made  his  triumphal 
entrance  into  the  borders  of  the  heathenism 
of  Asia  Minor.  The  ancient  city,  Perga,  of 
which  there  is  nothing  to  be  seen  now  but 
a  few  prostrate  and  indistinct  ruins,  scattered 
about  in  a  pasture  that  lies  in  a  valley  and  on 
two  opposite  hillsides  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the 
river,  was,  at  the  time  when  Paul  and  Barnabas 
were  there,  the  focus  of  the  enterprise  and  fashion 
of  Pamphylia.  Later,  Attalia  was  built  directly 
on  the  coast  with  a  good  harbor ;  the  Oestrus 
became  innavigable,  and  Perga  was  gradually 
deserted  for  its  more  prosperous  rival. 

The  country  of  Asia  Minor,  which  we  are 
now  entering  with  the   apostles,  demands  at 

127 


128 


LTFK    OF    PAUL. 


[A.n.  46. 


•> 


least  ti  few  seiiteiites  of  dcseriptioii.  It  was 
an  excecdin«,Hy  loui^Ii  country,  broken  in  all 
directions  by  inountani-eluiins,  torn  by  torrents, 
bristlin;!::  willi  dense  forests,  infested  by  wild 
beasts,  and  ocon[)ied  in  ni:my  portions  by  a 
thoron«rbly  barbarous  population.  The  coasts 
were  lined  with  cities  and  civilization ;  and 
at  certain  points,  such  as  Antioch  in  Pisidia, 
Ancyra  in  Galatia,  Lystra,  and  Philadelphia, 
was  felt  tlie  influence  of  that  life  which  was 
touched  by  the  thousand  lines  of  communication 
that  crossed  and  recrossed  the  Mediterranean. 
The  country  was  divided  into  seven  provinces. 
Pamphylia.,  into  which  we  have  entered,  and 
which  is  l)ut  a  small  strip  of  valley,  lay 
between  the  Taurus  and  the  sea.  On  the 
east  of  this  was  Cilicia.  These  two  provinces 
covered  all  the  southern  coast  of  Asia  Minor, 
with  the  exception  of  the  extreme  western  end. 
North  of  Cilicia  stretched  away,  over  forest  and 
mountain  to  the  Euxine,  the  two  provinces  of 
Cappadocia  and  Pontus.  North  of  Pamphylia 
lay  Galatia  and  Bithynia.  The  western 
portion,  from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  Bos- 
phorus,  and  looking  out  up<  n  the  islands  of 
the  ^Egean,  was  known  in  Paul's  day  as  Asia. 
But  while  the  provinces  were  located  in  the 
positions  above  indicated,  it  must  not  be 
supposed  that  the  divisions  were  exact  or  the 


1  r 


/ 


K\X 


; 


a:t.  40.] 


ANTIOCH    IN    PISIDIA. 


lL':» 


lines  of  separation  very  distinct.  It  was  not 
always  easy  to  tell  where  one  province  stopped 
or  another  coninienced.  These  j)rovinces  were, 
moreover,  an  arbitrary  division,  made  under  the 
empire.  Meantime  many  of  the  old  names  of 
tribes  and  of  tribal  territories  were  retained,  so 
that  we  have  such  names  as  Phrygia,  Lycaonia, 
and  Lydia  to  describe  parts  of  Asia  Minor. 
All  of  these  designations  are  used  in  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles.  The  population  of  Asia 
Minor  "  was  broken  up  into  numerous  com- 
munities, varying  in  manners,  language,  and 
religion,  and  ruled  partly  hy  Roman  prefects 
and  partly  by  petty  kings  and  potentates,  the 
feudatories  of  Rome."  *  Seventeen  nations, 
many  of  them  speaking  different  languages  or 
dialects,  were  scattered  over  this  small  country. 
In  the  west,  or  Asia  Proper,  Greek  was  almost 
exclusively  spoken,  and  so  far  as  persons  of 
cultivation  Avere  to  be  met  with  anywhere 
they  could  use  this  language ;  but  the  people 
at  large  spoke  in  the  dialects  to  which  they 
were  born.  The  religion  of  these  provinces 
was  the  prevalent  idolatr}^  every  considerable 
city  or  district  selecting  its  own  special  deity, 
to  whom  a  temple  was  erected,  a  statue 
dedicated,  festivals  and  processions  celebrated, 
and  in  whose  temple  such  rites  were  observed 


1  Lewin,  1. 131. 


130 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  46. 


1     r 


as  m'^de  the  conscience  easy,  while  they  excused 
crime,  and  provided  for  the  gratification  of 
passion. 

Now  for  three  men  unprotected  to  push  into 
the  interior  of  such  a  country  as  this,  with  the 
announced  purpose  of  setting  the  stone  rolling 
which  should  break  down  these  false  religions, 
required  no  little  self-denial  and  boldness.  Ac- 
cordingly we  are  not  very  much  surprised  to 
read  that  at  this  point,  while  the  apostles  are  at 
Perga.,  making  such  arrangements  as  may  have 
been  necessary  for  their  journey  into  the  moun- 
tains, John  Mark's  determination  to  be  a  mis- 
sionary failed,  and  he  "  departed  from  them 
and  returned  to  Jerusalem."  ^  He  lacked  the 
vigorous  determination  of  a  Paul.  The  dark 
mountains  of  Galatia  were  not  very  inviting,  and 
his  zeal  for  preaching  the  Gospel  was  not  strong 
enough  to  carry  him  through  them.  He  had  no 
taste  for  martvrdom.  "  Either  he  did  not  like 
the  work,  or  he  wanted  to  go  and  see  his 
mother." 2  This  one  "disheartening  incident "^ 
was  all  that  occurred  at  Perga.  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas immediately  turn  their  faces  toward  the 
mountains,  ha/ing  selected  Antioch  in  Pisidia 
as  their  destination. 


t»i 


1  Actr;  xiii.  13. 

2  Matthew  Henry :  •'  Commentary  on  Acts,"  xiii.  13. 
8  Fanar,  i.  358. 


^T.  40.] 


ANTIOCH   IN   PISIDIA. 


131 


It  has  been  assumed  that  this  journey  was 
made  in  the  month  of  May,^ 

"The  floweiy  May,  who,  from  her  green  lap,  throws 
The  yellow  cowslip  and  the  pale  primrose,"  * 

and  that  the  apostles  hurried  away  from  Perga 
because  they  found  that  the  annual  summer 
exodus  from  the  hot,  low  plain,  to  the  cool 
heights  of  the  mountains  was  in  progress,  that 
the  absence  of  so  many  people  would  interfere 
with  their  work  there,  while  the  season  would 
be  most  propitious  to  visit  the  higher  districts. 
It  would  be  safer,  too,  for  them  to  travel  with 
those  who  were  going  up  to  their  summer  resi- 
dences ;  for  these  mountain-paths  were  infested 
with  robbers  and  brigands,  who  were  the  terror 
of  travellers.  We  imagine,  then,  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas making  the  journey  on  foot.  Starting  out 
in  the  early  morning,  before  the  intense  heat 
comes  rolling  through  the  valley  of  the  Oestrus, 
they  are  soon  climbing  the  zig-zag  path  up  the 
mountain-side,  while  the  sun  pours  its  rays  upon 
them.  "  As  the  path  ascends,"  to  quote  the  fine 
sentences  of  Dean  How  son,  "  the  rocks  begin  to 
assume  the  wilder  grandeur  of  mountains,  the 
richer  fruit-trees  begin  to  disappear,  and  the 
pine  and  walnut  succeed ;  though  the  palm- 
tree  still  stretches  its   wide  leaves  over  the 

1  Conybeare  and  Howson,  i.  165. 
3  Milton :  «  Song  on  May  Morning." 


a' 


132 


LIFE   OF  PAUL. 


[A.D.  46, 


wm^ 


strejim  which  dashes  wildly  down  the  ravine, 
crossing  and  recrossing  the  dangerous  road. 
The  alteration  of  climate  which  attends  on  the 
traveller's  progress  is  soon  perceptible.  A  few 
hours  will  make  the  difference  of  weeks  or  even 
months.  When  the  corn  is  in  the  ear  on  the 
lowlands,  ploughing  and  sowing  are  hardly  well 
begun  upon  the  highlands.  Spring-flowers  may 
be  seen  in  the  mountains  by  the  very  edge  of 
the  snow,  w4ien  the  anemone  is  withered  in  the 
plain,  and  the  pink  veins  in  the  white  asphodel 
flower  are  shrivelled  by  the  heat.  When  the 
cottages  are  closed  juid  the  grass  is  parched, 
and  everything  is  silent  belou^  in  the  purple  haze 
and  stillness  of  midsummer,  clouds  are  seen 
drifting  among  the  Pisidian  precipices,  and  the 
cavern  is  often  a  welcome  shelter  from  a  cold 
and  penetrating  wind."  ^  Up  such  a  mountain- 
road  our  travellers  pressed.  But  long  before 
they  reached  the  highest  roll  of  this  mountain- 
range,  they  pass  the  summer  villas  and  tents  in 
which  the  Paiaphylian  vacationers  are  enjoying 
the  equable  temperature  of  the  highlands.  It 
is  not  for  these  apostles  of  Christ,  though,  to 
delay  here  for  an  hour  even  of  recreation.  Five 
or  six  days  from  J*erga  they  ire  crossing  that 
table-land  which  stretches  inward  from  the  Pisi- 
dian mountains,  described  by  travellers  us  teera- 

1  Conuyljcare  and  llowsou,  i.  l(iG. 


JET.  40.] 


ANTIOCH   IN    PISIDIA. 


133 


ing  with  interest  and  beauty  of  great  variety ; 
but  "  the  steps  which  were  ever  on  the  golden 
streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem  trod  heedlessly  "^ 
through  the  most  fascinatino^  vistas  of  natural 
scenery,  as  over  the  most  richly-stored  fields  of 
classic  antiquity,  without  even  a  reference  being 
made  to  them  in  letter  or  in  speech.  Paul  was 
too  intent  on  reaching  the  people  in  yonder  city 
to  muse  on  the  scenes  by  the  wayside. 

The  Sal)bath  after  the  arrival  of  Paul  and 
Barnabas  in  Antioch  finds  them  with  their  fel- 
low-countrymen in  the  synagogue.  The  Jew- 
ish synagogues,  built  by  these  devoted  people 
in  every  town  where  there  were  enough  of  them 
to  support  one,  were  generally  plain  stone 
buildings,  with  very  little  ornamentation.  The 
regular  worship  consisted  of  prayers,  of  which 
there  were  more  thnn  twenty  prescribed  for  the 
Sabbath  ritual,  and  reading  tlie  Law  and  the 
Prophets.  Singing,  except  as  the  Psalms  and 
prayers  may  have  been  recited  in  a  monotonous 
sing-song,  did  not  form  a  part  of  the  worship ; 
and  if  there  was  any  speaking  it  was  by  special 
permission  of  the  Rulers,  and  was  in  addition  to 
the  prescribed  ritual. ^  If  we  could  have  looked 
into  that  synagogue  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia  on 
any  Sabbath,  we  should  have  seen  it  filled  with 
men,  women  and  children,  — Jews,  and  Gentile 

1  Farrar,  i.  363.  2  Geike  :  "  Life  of  Christ,"  i.  192. 


!*"JP 


•mmm 


134 


LITE   OF  PAUL. 


[A.D.  46. 


i^ 


\ 


proselytes,  who  had  adopted  the  Jewish  form 
of  worshipping  the  one  true  God, — all  devoutly 
standing,  uniting  in  some  of  the  prayers,  re- 
sponding "  Amen  "  to  some  others,  listening  while 
the  Reader  read  the  section  of  the  Law  or  fif- 
tieth part  of  the  five  books  of  Moses,  and  giving 
attention  to  whoever  might  be  invited  to  speak 
in  exposition  of  the  lesson  that  had  been  read. 
The  people  on  this  Sabbath  are  expecting  to 
hear  a  new  voice ;  for  it  is  already  known  that 
two  brethren,  one  of  whom  at  least  is  a  Rabbi 
from  the  school  of  Gamaliel,  are  in  the  congre- 
gation. After  the  reading  is  finished,  therefore, 
an  invitation  is  given  to  them  by  the  Ruler  of 
the  synagogue :  "  Brethren,  if  ye  have  any 
word  of  exhortation  for  the  people,  say  on." 
They  had  something  to  say,  —  a  word  that 
was  burning  in  their  very  hearts  for  utterance. 
"  This  pair  of  men  never  wanted  words  to 
speak."  ^  It  is  Paul,  however,  who  responds  to 
the  invitation.  The  "Son  of  Consolation"  must 
rarely  have  spoken  in  public ;  but  Paul  possessed 
the  natural  poise  and  force,  the  quick  mind  and 
ready  tongue  of  a  public  speaker.  At  once  he 
rises  and  addresses  the  congregation :  ^ — - 

1  Bengal :  "  Gnomon,"  Acts  xiii.  15. 

s  *'■  This  discourse,  the  first  of  Paul's  discourses  reported  at  any 
length,  dwells  on  three  points :  the  prior  history  of  the  people,  and 
its  connection  with  the  advent ;  then  the  Mcssiahship  of  .Jesus,  and 
its  proofs;  and  lastly,  the  solemn  application  nt'  the  truth  to  them- 
selves.—JoHK  Eadie  :  "Paul  the  Preacher,"  y.  74. 


Mr.  40,1 


ANTIOCH    IN    PISIDIA. 


135 


"Listen,  men  of  Israel,  and  you  also  who 
worship  our  God.  The  God  of  this  people, 
Israel,  chose  our  fathers  and  raised  them  up 
to  be  a  mighty  nation,  even  out  of  bondage  in 
Eg3^pt,  anrt  with  a  strong  arm  brought  them  out 
of  that  country ;  and  for  about  forty  years  he 
carried  them  safely  in  his  arms  through  the 
wilderness.  And  when  He  had  destroyed  seven 
nations  in  the  land  of  Camian,  He  gave  their 
country  to  His  people  for  about  four  hundred 
and  fifty  years,  after  which  he  gave  them  judges 
until  the  time  of  Samuel  the  Prophet.  Then 
they  desired  a  king,  and  He  appointed  Saul  the 
son  of  Kish  for  them,  a  man  of  the  tribe  of  Ben- 
jamin, to  rule  them  forty  years  And  when  He 
had  removed  Saul  He  prepared  David  to  be 
their  king,  to  whom  also  He  bore  testimony, 
saying :  I  have  found  David,  the  son  of  Jesse^ 
a  man  after  my  own  heart,  who  shall  do  all  my 
ivill. 

"  Of  this  man's  descendants,  God,  according  to 
His  promise,  has  brought  to  Israel  a  Saviour, 
Jesus,  after  John  had  first  preached  the  baptism 
of  repentance  to  all  the  people  of  Israel.  And 
as  John  was  finishing  his  ministry  he  said: 
Wliom  do  you  think  I  am  f  I  am  not  He. 
But  behold,  there  is  One  coming  after  me  whose 
sandals  I  am  not  worthy  to  take  off. 

"  Brethren,  children  of  Abraham,  and  all  you 


136 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  46. 


h 


$ 


who  worship  our  God,  to  us  has  been  sent  this 
word  of  salvation ;  for  those  who  live  in  Jeru- 
salem, and  their  rulers,  because  they  knew  Him 
not,  nor  ".nderstood  tlio  sayings  of  the  i)rophets 
which  .'.c  read  in  tlieir  hcuriiig  every  Sahliath, 
fulfilled  the  prophecies  by  condemning  Iliin. 
And  though  they  did  not  find  him  guihy  of 
death,  still  they  requested  Pilate  to  put  liini  to 
death.  Aral  when  they  had  fulfilled  all  things 
that  were  written  concerning  Him  they  took  Him 
ouwn  from^  the  tree  and  laid  Him  in  a  tomb. 
But  God  raised  Him  from  the  dead  !  And  He 
was  seen  for  many  days  by  those  who  had  come 
up  with  Him  from  Galilee  to  Jerusalem,  who 
are  now  his  witnesses  to  the  people. 

"And  we  bring  to  you  here  the  glad  tidings 
of  the  promise  made  unto  the  fathers,  how  that 
God  has  fulfilled  the  same  unto  us,  their  chil- 
dren, in  that  he  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead, 
as  also  it  is  writtc"  in  the  second  Psalm,  T/iou 
art  my  Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee.  And 
as  concerning  that  He  raised  him  from  the  dead, 
no  more  to  return  to  corruption,  He  has  spoken 
in  these  words,  The  blessings  of  David  will  I 
give  you,  even  the  blessings  tvhic^  stand  fast 
in  holiness.  Wherefore  it  is  written  also  in 
another  psalm.  Thou  ivilt  not  suffer  thine  Holy 
One  to  see  corruption.  For  David,  after  he  had 
been  a  faithful  servant  of  God  in  his  own  gener- 


Mr.  40.] 


ANTIOCH    IN    PISIDIA. 


137 


ation,  fell  asleej),  and  was  laid  away  with  his 
fathers,  and  saw  corruption  ;  but  He  whom  God 
raised  from  the  dead  saw  no  corruption. 

"Know,  therefore,  brethren,  that  through  this 
man  Jesus  is  proclaimed  unto  you  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins ;  and  by  Hira  every  one  who  be- 
lieves is  for<?iven  all  those  transofressions  from 
which  you  could  never  escape  by  the  Law  of 
Moses.  Beware,  therefore,  beware,  lest  that 
come  upon  you  which  is  spoken  in  the  Prophets, 
Behold,  ye  des^nsem,  and  ivonder,  and  perish ; 
for  I  icork  a  ivork  in  your  days,  a  work  xchirli 
ye  shall  not  believe,  though  a  man  declare  it  to 
you  !  " 

Rarely  has  a  sermon  or  address  fallen  with 
such  thrilling  impression  upon  the  listeners  as 
this  first  recorded  sermon  of  Paul's  made  upon 
Jews  and  Gentiles  alike.  At  the  close  of  the 
service  they  gathered  around  the  apostles,  and 
earnestly  requested  them  to  preach  on  the  same 
subject  again  the  next  Strfjbath ;  and  some  of 
them  were  so  deeply  interested  that  they  accom- 
panied Paul  and  Barnabas  to  the  place  where 
they  were  lodging,  and  declared  their  purpose 
to  be  followers  of  Christ,  and  tlie  apostles  "  urged 
them  to  continue  in  the  grace  of  God." 

The  following  week  must  have  been  a  busy 
and  anxious  one  ;  for  the  missionaries  would  want 
to  follow  up  the  impression  they  had  made,  by 


■■I 


t    ! 


1 


138 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  46. 


personal  convorsation  with  all  who  were  inter- 
ested in  what  they  had  said.  We  can  easily 
imagine  how  rapidly  the  news  would  spread, 
that  a  JeAv  from  Tarsus,  a  keen  and  eloquent 
speaker,  had  come  to  the  Pisidian  capital  with 
an  entirely  new  religion,  and  that  he  was  likely 
to  speak  again  on  the  next  Sabbath.  Every- 
body was  anxious  to  get  into  the  synagogue. 
Not  a  seat  was  empty,  and  still  the  crowd  tried 
to  press  in  at  the  narrow  door.  The  Psalms 
are  intoned,  the  prayers  recited,  and  the  Law 
and  the  Prophets  read.  But  Paul  is  not  asked  to 
speak  to-day.  The  ruler  of  the  synagogue  calls 
upon  other  Jews,  and  as  they  rise  to  speak, 
jealous  and  angry  that  such  a  crowd  of  Gentiles 
should  have  come  to  hear  "  this  dubious  stran- 
ger," ^  they  undertake  to  contradict  what  Paul 
had  said,  and  to  ridicule  and  revile  it.  It  was 
evident  that  further  preaching  in  the  synagogue 
would  be  out  of  the  question.  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas, therefore,  availing  themselves  of  their 
privilege  as  Jews,  spoke  out  boldly :  "  It  was 
necessary  that  the  word  of  God  should  first  be 
spoken  to  you  Jews ;  but  since  you  throw  it 
aside,  and  consider  yourselves  unworthy  of 
eternal  life,  lo !  we  turn  now  to  the  Gentiles." 
And  they  quoted  a  passage  from  the  Jews'  own 
sacred  Book  to  show  that  their  decision  was  in 

1  Fanar,  i.  374. 


m 


iET.  40.] 


ANTIOCH    IN   PISIDIA. 


139 


harmony  with  that,  — "  For  so  hath  the  Lord 
commanded  us,  /  have  set  thee  for  a  light  to  the 
Gentiles,  that  thou  shouldest  be  for  salvation 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth.'' ^ 

This  pleased  the  Gentiles,  and  they  praised 
the  Book  from  which  Paul  had  quoted,  and  be- 
lieved. Proba])ly  they  soon  gathered  in  some 
other  place.  The  work  went  on  until  all  the 
country  round  was  talking  of  the  new  way  of 
salvation. 

But  all  the  more  were  the  Jews  enraged. 
They  would  not  have  these  Gentiles  entering  into 
the  kingdom  of  God  without  submitting  to  the 
Mosaic  rites.  "  This  was  always  the  sin  of  the 
Jewish  people.  Instead  of  realizing  their  posi- 
tion in  the  world  as  the  prophetic  nation  for  the 
good  of  the  whole  earth,  they  indulged  the  self- 
exalting  opinion  that  God's  highest  blessings 
were  only  for  themselves."^  They  resorted  to 
contemptible  means  of  prevcuting  the  work  of 
Paul  and  Barnabas.  They  worked  upon  the 
minds  of  certain  women  who  v/ere  Gentile 
proselj^tes,  and  through  them  upon  other  Gen- 
tile women  who  had  influential  husbands,  but 
who  had  not  been  attracted  to  Paul's  preaching ; 
and  these,  by  their  position,  soon  brought  influ- 
ences into  operation  which  compelled  the  apos- 
tles to  abandon  their  work  and  leave  Antioch. 


1  Is.  xUx.  6. 


2  Conybeare  and  Howson,  i.  179. 


i"i 


f 


140 


IJFR    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  4rt. 


They  shook  the  (hist  of  the  hijifhway  off  their 
feet  toward  the  city,  "  as  a  sign  that  their 
enemies,  and  not  themselves,  were  to  bhime,"^ 
and  started  out  for  Iconium,  leaving  the  newly- 
converted  disciples,  not  in  tears,  but  "filled 
with  joy,  and  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  2 


1  Lewiu,  I.  114. 


2  Acts  xiii.  52. 


h 


i'- 


»     i 

:    I  I 


k.A 


i      1 


CHAPTER  Xi. 

ICONIUM,  LYSTRA,  AND  DERBE. 

"  Once  was  I  stoned."—  2  CoR.  xi.  25. 

••Paul  returned  from  this  journey  a  shattered  man." — F.  W. 
Farkar. 

FIFTY  years  ago,  an  English  explorer  ^  dis- 
covered on  a  mountain-slope  in  Pisidia  a 
few  mounds  of  broken  masonry,  the  foundation 
of  some  large  building,  —  synagogue,  theatre, 
or  Christian  church,  —  and  twenty-one  consecu- 
tive arches  stretching  across  the  plain,  —  the 
supports  of  an  ancient  aqueduct.  These  identi- 
fied the  s'ite  of  Antioch.  There  is  nothing 
else  left  of  the  city  against  which  the  apostles 
shook  the  dust.  This  Antioch  was  on  the  great 
Roman  highway  which  crossed  Asia  Minor  from 
east  to  west,  connecting  Antioch  on  the  Orontes 
with  Ephesus.  When  Paul  and  Barnabas  came 
up  here  from  Perga  on  the  coast,  they  had  in 
mind,  no  doubt,  to  inject  into  this  great  artery, 
through  which  so  much  of  the  life-blood  of  the 
empire  was  bounding,  the  quickening,  thrilling 
Word  of  eternal  life.     Their  work  at  Antioch 

1  See  Arundel's  •'  Asia  Minor." 

141 


•T""    -  ]f;jTT"*""  "f*""'"""^'     -.— 


P 


i\ 


*M      i 


142 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  40. 


for  the  present,  at  least,  was  ended.  They 
kept,  however,  to  this  highway  and  set  out  for 
the  next  city  toward  the  East.  . 

Iconium,  al)out  sixty  miles  from  Antioch,  "  is 
pleasantly  situate  on  the  western  verge  of  the 
largest  plain  of  Asia  Minor,  and,  therefore,  like 
Damascus,  is  an  oasis  in  the  desert."  ^  Three 
days'  journey,  through  a  mountainous,  dreary, 
and  uninhabited  country,  lay  before  the  apos- 
tles. What  conversations  about  the  work  in 
which  they  were  engaged ;  what  prayers  at  night 
before  they  lay  down  in  some  cave  or  travel- 
lers' hut  to  sleep ;  what  weariness,  what  dis- 
couragements, what  hopes !  At  length  they 
enter  the  gates  of  another  city,  and  without  de- 
lay introduce  themselves  vmd  their  mission  to  the 
people.  Again  we  see  them  in  the  synagogue 
speaking  to  the  Jews  with  much  the  same  words 
as  those  spoken  in  Antioch,  but  with  more  clearly 
marked  success.  One  little  word  in  Luke's  ac- 
count,^  "  so,"  —  "  so  that  a  great  multitude,  both 
of  the  Jews  and  also  of  the  Greeks,  believed," — 
describes  their  preaching.  It  must  have  been 
in  harmony  with  the  Old  Testament,  for  the 
Jews  believed.  It  must  have  appealed  to  rea- 
son, for  the  Greeks  accepted  it.  '* Jesus"  was 
the  one  thought  which  all  Paul's  preaching  had  in 
view.     Me  never  spoke  to  the  people  except  to 


'  Lewin,  I.  145. 


2  Acts  xiv.  1. 


A'- 


■au 


JET.  41.1        ICONIUM,  LYSTR.i,  AND    DERBE. 


143 


try  to  persujule  them  to  ])elicve  that  Jesus  was 
the  Messiali,  the  Son  of  God,  who  had  come  into 
the  world  to  be  the  Saviour  of  men.  But  there 
were  some  who  would  not  believe  this;  and  the 
most  obstinate  and  bitter  of  these  were  Jews, 
who,  always  envious  of  the  success  of  any  new 
sect,  were  afraid  that  this  one,  unless  vigorously 
opposed,  would  weaken,  if  not  overthrow,  their 
synagogue.  Accordingly  they  set  themselves 
to  work  among  those  Gentile  proselytes  who  were 
interested  in  the  i)roaching  of  the  Christian  mis- 
sionaries, and  succeeded  in  alienating  and  em- 
bittering them.  But  Paul  and  Barnal)as  kept 
on  preaching.  The  local  government  of  Ico- 
niuin  was  different  from  that  of  Antioch,  and 
the  Jews  could  not  secure  social  and  political 
influences  here  to  exclude  the  preachers.  For 
a  long  time  they  continued  from  Sabbath  to 
Sabbath  to  speak  fearlessly  and  l)oldly,  and  God 
also  bore  testimony  to  ^e  truth  of  what  they 
said  by  enabling  them  to  perform  miracles. 
This,  however,  did  not  last.  The  whole  city  was 
aroused  by  the  preaching  of  the  sturdy,  deter- 
mined. God-fearing  Christian  Jew.  The  popu- 
lace fell  apart  into  two  factions,  —  some  for 
the  apostles,  some  for  the  Jews ;  and  the  ex- 
citement ran  so  high  that  there  was  a  plot  to 
kill  the  two  devout  men.  This  their  friends 
discovered,   and,  hurrying   to   them   with   the 


I 


I  I       i 


144 


Infori 


LIFE   OF  PAUL. 


[A.D.  41 


iition,  Paul  and  Jianiabas  escaped  as  fugi- 
tives from  this  city,  where,  for  several  iiciithp,* 
they  had  been  giving  to  the  people  the  greatest 
blessings  of  life. 

"  When  the}^  persecute  you  in  this  city,  flee 
into  the  next,"  our  Lord  had  told  the  first 
r;A>stles  Avhom  he  sent  out.^  Whether  or  not 
Paul  had  ever  heard  these  words  from  any  of 
those  Intimate  companions  of  Jesus,  we  do  not 
kno;v ;  but  the  spirit  of  them  certainly  was  in 
his  sou] .  He  was  entirely  committed  to  preach- 
ing the  fjospel  as  long  as  his  life  might  be 
spared.  As  a  matter  of  course,  therefore.  He 
went  with  Barnabas  directly  on  to  the  small 
mountain-town  of  Lystra.  There  were  but  few 
Jews  in  this  place,  and  no  s3^nagogue.  The 
true  God  wns  scarcely  known.  The  people 
worshipped  Jupiter,^  to  whom  they  had  erected 
a  rude  temple  near  the  entrrmce-gates  of  their 
little  town.  But  Paiifibould  proclaim  the  glad 
tidings  without  a  synagogue ;  and  we  may  im- 
agine that  he  would  feel  some  relief  in  being 
away  fiom  the  persecutions  of  the  Jews. 

On  one  occasion  as  Paul  was  speaking,  he 
noticed,  sitting  in  the  audience  before  him,  a 
man  who  had  been  carried  there  by  some  friends, 

1  Hackett,  in  loc.  2  Matt.  x.  23. 

3  At  Antioch  on  the  Orontes  Daphne  was  tlie  presiding  deity ; 
in  C;  j)i '.s,  Venus  ;  in  Pcr^'a,  Oiaiiii;  in  Aiitiocli  of  Pisidia,  the 
Moou ;  iu  Lystni  uud  Uerbe,  Jupiter. 


I     'HI 

■BiTT 


Mr.  41.1         ICONIUM,  LYSTRA,  AND    DERBE. 


145 


because  he  could  not  walk.     He  had  nevor  had 
any  strength  in  his  feet.     Paul's  words,  what- 
ever they  were,  went  to  that  lame  man's  heart, 
and  a  gleam  of  hope  and  faith  came  into  his  face 
as  he  heard  of  Jesus.     Maybe  Paul  was  relat- 
ing some  of  those  incidents  of  healinfy  in  which 
Jesus  himself  appeared  as  the  Great  Physician, 
and  this  Lystrian  cripple,  by  some  sigh  or  ex- 
clamation of  regret  that  he  had  not  been  where 
Jesus  was,  attracted  the  preacher's  attention. 
Paul  at  once  singled  him  out,  and  in  the  presence 
of  that  idolatrous  congregation  said  to  him,  in  a 
voice  loud  enough  for  all  to  hear,  "  Stand  up- 
right on  thy  feet ! "     Immediately  he  leaped  to 
his  feet  and  walked.     A  shout  went  up  from 
the  crowd  in  the  hybrid  patois  of  the  district 
of  Lycaonia :  "  The  gods  are  come  down  to  us 
in  the  likeness  of  men  ! "   "  Yes,"  they  said  one  to 
the  other,  "  that  small  one  who  speaks  so  easil}'' 
and  eloquently  must  be  Mercury,  the  messen- 
ger of  heaven  ;  and  the  larger  one,  with  such  a  y/ 
benign  and  mild  countenance,  must  ')e  Jupiter, 
the  father  of  the  gods."     Among  the  legends  of 
the  early   history  of  the  Lycaonians  was  the 
story  that  many  years  before,  Jupiter  and  Mer- 
cury hid  come  from  heaven  to  visit  them.     This 
legend  had  been  handed  down  from  father  to  son, 
end  no  doubt  many  of  them  believed  it  was  true. 
It  was  not  unnatural  for  them,  therefore,  when 


I       I 
!       I 


i 


'■  I         I 


: 


.      I 


9  I 


I    I 


146 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  47. 


they  saw  the  miracle  performed  by  the  apostles, 
to  think  that  they  must  be  the  gods  come  again. 
It  was  a  o-reat  ev<  iit  for  those  credulous  and 
superstitious  people.  There  was  a  wild  and  glad 
excitement  in  the  village.  The  priest  at  the 
temple  of  Jupiter  hurriedly  puts  on  his  robes  to 
offer  sacrifice.  The  fattest  and  best  oxen  are 
driven  in.  Garlands  of  evergreen  and  flowers 
are  made.  All  the  people  come  together,  — 
men  from  their  work  in  the  fields,  mothers  with 
babies  in  their  arms,  old  people  who  have  not 
been  out  for  months,  come  tottering  along,  until 
the  shops  and  market  and  houses  are  deserted ; 
for  everybody  must  see  the  two  gods  just  come 
from  heaven.  How  discouraging  such  a  result 
of  their  preaching  must  have  been  !  To  see  the 
people  carried  away  by  an  entirely  wrong  im- 
pression !  Just  as  soon  as  Paul  and  Barnabas 
understood  what  the  townspeople  were  doing, 
they  rushed  into  the  crowd  and  cried  out  that 
they  were  not  gods,  but  only  men  like  the  rest 
of  them,  and  implored  them  to  abandon  their 
worthless  religion,  and  to  worship  the  one  true 
God.  It  was  only  with  great  dilficulty  that  they 
persuaded  the  people  not  to  offer  sacrifices  to 
them. 

But  very  soon  "the  wind  blew  from  another 
quarter."  ^    Some  of  those  jealous  Jews,  who  had 

1  Lewio,  I.  ISO. 


^T.  41.] 


ICONIUM,  LYSTRA,  AND  DERBE. 


147 


driven  the  apostles  out  of  Antioch  and  Iconium, 
not  satisfied  with  doing  that,  took  pains  to  come 
all  the  way  down  to  Lystra,  and  made  the  Lys- 
trians  believe  that  they  had  been  deceived, —  that 
these  two  men  who  they  thought  were  gods, 
were  impostors.  The  people  are  excited  again. 
Paul,  because  he  had  taken  the  lead,  was  caught 
and  stoned ;  and  then,  when  they  thought  he  was 
dead,  was  dragged  out  of  the  village  and  thrown 
by  the  road-side.  There  were  a  few  who  be- 
lieved what  Paul  had  been  preaching.  These 
disciples,  among  whom  in  all  probability  was 
Timothy,^  and  his  mother,  Eunice,  and  his  grand- 
mother, Lois,  stood  weeping  around  the  bruised 
and  apparently  lifeless  body.  "  Barnabas  would 
have  all  the  sad  thoughts  of  preparing  a  grave 
for  his  honored  friend  in  this  far-off  pagan  city, 
and  of  a  return  back  alone  to  Jerusalem  with 
the  terrible  tidings  — '  Paul  is  dead  ! '"  ^ 

But  the  work  of  the  Great  Apostle  was  only 
begun.  He  had  been  "  cast  down,  but  not  de- 
stroyed." He  had  been  stunned  and  was  well 
nigh  dead ;  but,  under  the  tender  care  of  loving 
hands,  he  rose  up  again,  and  found  a  refuge 
that  night  possibly  at  the  house  of  Eunice,  whose 
husband  was  a  Greek.  The  next  morning, 
"  while  the  city  was  yet  asleep,"  ^  though  sore  and 
weak,  he  left  Lystra,  and  went  to  Derbe,  twenty 

1  2  Tim.  iii.  10.    2  Macduff,  "  Footsteps,"  135.    '  Farrar,  i.  38. 


H 


i  , 


lii 


1  I. 


i 


\ 


148 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  4T. 


miles  farther  to  the  eastward.  It  is  possible 
that  the  enemies  of  Paul  at  Lystra  did  not  know 
of  his  recovery  and  escape,  but  that  they  sup- 
posed him  dead.  We  do  not  read  of  their  fol- 
lowing him  to  Derbe.  At  that  town,  beside  the 
river  and  the  lake,  the  missionaries  preached  the 
Word,  apparently  without  opposition,  and  with 
cheering  success.  Among  the  "  many  disciples  " 
there,  was  one  who  himself  afterward  became  a 
missionary  and  companion  of  Paul,  —  "  Gains 
of  Derbe." ' 

We  have  reached  now  the  end  of  this  first 
journey.  It  may  seem  a  little  surprising  that 
from  Derbe  Paul  did  not  go  down  to  Tarsus,  for 
it  was  not  many  miles  away ;  but  when  we  re- 
member that  his  whole  object  was  to  preach  the 
Gospel  and  establish  Christian  churches,  and 
that  he  had  already  spent  three  years  at  this 
work  in  and  about  Tarsus,  we  shall  not  wonder 
that  they  returned  to  visit  again  those  who  had 
recently  been  converted  in  the  cities  through 
which  they  had  lately  come.  This  was  a  brave 
determination  ;  but  back  they  went,  knowing  that 
it  could  scarcely  be  less  than  death  for  them  to 
fall  again  into  the  hands  of  the  Jews.  Far- 
rar  suggests  that  "  precautions  of  secrecy  they 
doubtless  took,  and  cheerfully  faced  the  degrad- 
ing necessity  of  guarded  movements,  and  of  en- 

1  Acts  XX.  4. 


r 


m 


w 


^T.41.]        ICONIUM,  LYSTRA,  AND    DERBE. 


149 


tering  cities,  perhaps  in  disguise,  perhaps  only 
at  late  nightfall  and  early  dawn."i  There  is 
no  preaching  in  the  synagogues  on  this  return 
journey  ;  no  miracles,  no  mobs,  no  persecution. 
Quietly  they  meet  those  already  Christians, 
teach  them  more  fully  about  Christ,  and  so  es- 
tablish them  in  the  faith,  exhort  them  to  per- 
severe, and  at  the  same  time  candidly  assure 
them  that  "all  tliat  would  live  godly  in  Christ 
Jesus  shall  sufter  persecution." 2  As  they  met 
each  little  company  of  Christians  in  Lystra, 
Iconium,  and  Antioch,  they  ordained  elders^  to 
watch  over  and  take  care  of  the  church,  and 
then  with  fasting  and  prayer  they  took  affection- 
ate leave  of  them  and  passed  on  to  the  next. 
In  this  way  they  passed  from  Derbe  to  Lystra, 
twenty  miles;  from  Lystra  to  Iconium,  forty 
miles ;  from  Iconium  to  Antioch,  sixty  miles, 
and  from  Antioch  across  the  bleak  and  frigid* 
table-land  asfain,  down  through  the  n^ountain- 
gorges,  the  plain  of  Pamphylia,  and  the  valley 
of  the  Cestrus  to  Perga,  one  hundred  and  twenty 


1  "  St.  Paul,"  I.  389.  2  2  Tim.  iii.  12 

8  "  The  term  in  plunil,  because  each  church  had  its  college  of 
elders."  —  Hackett  :  "  Commentary  on  Acts,"  xiv.  23. 

*  Conybeare  and  Ilowson  assume  (Vol.  I.  200)  that  the  apos- 
tles "  went  up  from  Pcr^a  in  the  sprinj,^  and  returned  at  the  close 
of  the  autumn,  and  spent  all  of  tlic  hotter  months  of  the  year  in 
the  elevated  districts."  It  is  not  impossible  that  the  work  of  evan- 
gelizing these  cities  occupied  a  year  and  a  half. 


150 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  47. 


»\ 


miles,  having  travelled  through  a  wild  and  dan- 
gerous wilderness,  though  part  of  the  way  by 
the  main  road,  a  distance  of  nearly  five  hundred 
miles. 

At  Perga  they  find  the  inhabitants  returned 
from  their  summer  resorts,  and  avail  themselves 
of  the  opportunity  to  preach  to  them  about 
Jesus,  but  without  any  marked  results.  From 
there,  instead  of  taking  ship  down  the  Cestrus, 
as  they  came  up,  they  walked  across  to  Attalia, 
sixteen  miles  southwest  of  Perga  and  directly 
on  the  coast,  from  which  port  —  "  for  they  never 
seem  to  have  lingered  among  the  fleeting  and 
mongrel  populations  of  these  seaport  towns  "  ^ 
—  they  sailed  to  Seleucia,  and  were  soon  again 
with  the  Christian  brethren  in  Antioch  on  the 
Orontes,  telling  them  "all  that  God  had  done 
with  them,"  —  how  they  had  preached  in  the 
synagogues  of  Salamis ;  how  Bar-Jesus  had  been 
made  blind,  and  Sergius  Paulus  converted ;  how, 
after  many  Jews  and  Gentiles  had  been  con- 
verted in  Antioch,  they  were  driven  out  to  Ico- 
niuni  to  win  more  converts  to  the  Christian  faith ; 
how,  still  pressed  by  opposition,  in  Lystra,  the 
power  of  God  was  manifested ;  and  how,  in  Derbe 
many  believed.  This  was  the  good  news  they 
brought  back.      Perhaps  Paul  spoke  of  their 


1  Farrar :  •«  St.  Paul,"  i.  390. 


JET.  41]        ICONIUM,  LY8TRA,  AND  DERBE. 


151 


hardships  by  the  way,  their  persecutions,  and 
the  manner  in  which  the  Lystrian  mob  almost 
stoned  him  to  death ;  but  he  was  more  b'kely  to 
tell  of  the  victories  that  had  been  won  in  the 
name  of  Christ. 


CHAPTER  XH 


[* 


i?i 


il 


t);i 
u: 


i  I; 


t 


THE  COUNCIL  AT  JERUSALEM. 

"  It  was  a  great  crisis  in  the  history  of  the  church,  and  of  man- 
kind." —  Neander. 

"  There  is  neither  Greek  nor  Jew,  circumcision  nor  uncircumci- 
sion,  Barbarian,  Scythian,  bond  nor  free ;  but  Christ  is  all,  and  in 
aU."  — CoL.iii.  11. 

A  MONG  the  first  persons  who  came  to  Jesus 
•^^  was  "  a  man  of  the  Pharisees,  named  Nico- 
demus."!  He  seems  to  have  wanted  to  be  a 
disciple  of  Jesus ;  but  his  position  was  never 
clearly  defined.  It  may  be  diflScult  in  our  day 
to  appreciate  the  obstacles  that  would  stand  in 
the  way  of  one  who  had  always  been  a  strict 
Pharisee  becoming  a  follower  of  Christ.  And 
yet,  of  those  ^vhose  names  appear  in  the  annals 
of  early  Christianity,  a  considerable  number  were 
from  that  "most  straitest  sect."  All  the  great 
leaders  in  the  establishment  of  the  first  churches 
were  Pharisees,  —  men  who  had  been  born  and 
trained  to  exclusiveness  in  religion,  who  believed 
that  only  Jews  could  be  pleasing  to  God ;  that 
circumcision  was  the  only  badge  of  salvation 


1  John  iii.  1. 


152 


inff^VneSSliiimimm 


iET.42.]    THE  COUNCIL  AT  JERUSALEM. 


153 


that  would  be  recognized  in  heaven ;  and  that 
not  one  .out  of  all  the  myriads  of  the  Gentiles 
could  become  an  heir  of  eternal  life,  who  refused 
to  submit  to  the  least  requirement  of  their  law 
and  tradition,  no  matter  how  distasteful,  how 
opposed  to  reason,  how  contrary  to  nature,  that 
requirement  might  seem  to  be.  Bigotry  and 
narrowness  were  held  as  high  Pharisaic  virtues. 
We  can  see  how,  sooner  or  later,  the  teach- 
inffs  of  Christ  must  either  revolutionize  or  else 
come  into  direct  contact  Avith  this  spirit  in  those 
Pharisees  who  became  Christians.  Paul  had 
been  revolutionized.  In  him  the  change  from 
a  strict,  punctilious,  sectarian  Jew  to  a  Great- 
heart,  to  a  most  philanthropic  and  wide-minded 
citizen  of  the  world,  and  brother  of  all  men,  was 
instantaneous  and  complete ;  but  there  were 
other  Pliarisees  in  whom  the  change  was  slow. 
This  was  especially  the  case  in  the  church  at 
Jerusalem,  which  must  have  been  almost  en- 
tirely composed  of  Jews,  the  larger  part  of 
whom  were  Pharisees,  though  there  were  some 
Sadducees,  and  others  also  who  could  not  strictly 
be  classed  with  either  sect.  All  these  ori<>i- 
nally  held  opinions  which  were  antagonistic  to 
the  principles  of  Christianity  ;  and  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  they  were  many  years  in  learning 
the  folly  of  their  trjulitionnl  and  inherited  ^eliefs, 
and  in  coming  into  the  largeness  and  light  of 


,• 


I'    > 


\' 


■ ' 


f\ 


154 


LIFE   or   PAUL. 


[A.D.  49. 


the  Gospel.  We  have  seen  how  Peter  was 
taught  by  a  vision  that  an  Italian  might  be  as 
much  a  child  of  God  as  a  Jew,  and  how  the  con- 
version of  certain  Samaritans  opened  the  eyes 
of  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem.  But  it  was  not  until 
Gentiles  had  been  admitted  into  the  church  at 
Antioch  in  Syria  on  equal  terms  with  Jews,  and 
Paul  had  returned  from  his  first  missionary  tour 
declaring  that  God  "  had  opened  the  door  of 
faith  unto  the  Gentiles "  ^  in  Cyprus  and  Asia 
Minor,  that  the  time  was  ripe  for  the  final  set- 
tlement of  the  question  regarding  Jewish  exclu- 
siveness  in  the  Christian  church. 

Some  time  after  Paul  and  Barnabas  came  back 
to  Antioch,  certain  brethren  from  the  church  at 
Jerusalem  who  knew  more  about  Moses  than 
they  did  about  Christ,  but  who,  nevertheless, 
desired  to  be  leaders  of  opinion  in  the  churches, 
visited  Antioch,  to  set  in  order  there  some 
things  which  they  thought  were  wrong.  They 
asserted  that  one  could  not  become  a  Christian 
who  was  not  already  a  Jew.  To  belong  to  this 
peculiar  people,  and  to  share  in  its  religious 
privileges,  however,  it  was  not  absolutely  neces- 
sary that  one  be  born  a  Jew.  Gentiles  who 
bound  themselves  by  solemn  vows  to  observe 
the  seven  precepts :  ( 1 )  against  idolatry ; 
(2)    against  blasphemy ;    (3)   against    blood- 

1  Acts  xiv.  27* 


F 

k 


[    I 


■^^iii:' 


JET.43.]    THE  COUNCIL  AT  JERUSALEM. 


155 


shed;  (4)  against  unclcanness ;  (5)  against 
theft;  (6)  of  obedience;  (7)  the  "prohibi- 
tion of  flesh  with  the  blood  thereof."^  wer^  ad- 
mitted as  proselytes  of  the  gate.  This,  though, 
was  only  the  first  step,  and  by  the  strictest 
Jews  it  was  considered  of  very  little  significance. 
Full  admission  required  formal  separation  from 
the  old  life,  — submission  to  the  rites  of  both  cir- 
cumcision and  immersion,  and  offering  sacrifice. 
In  this  way  were  made  proselytes  of  righteous- 
ness, who  stood  ceremonially,  at  least,  on  an 
equal  footing  with  the  native  Jew.  But  Paul 
and  Barnabas  had  received  into  the  Christian 
churches  persons  who  were  neither  proselytes 
of  righteousness  nor  even  proselytes  of  the  gate. 
Behold,  then,  the  prejudice  of  these  Jewish 
Christians  in  Jerusalem !  To  them  the  uncir- 
cumcised  Gentiles  were  entirely  outside  of  the 
covenant  and  promises  of  God,  and  it  would  be 
neither  faithful  to  the  law  nor  fair  to  the  Gen- 
tile Christians  themselves  to  suffer  them  to  be 
deceived  into  supposing  that  they  were  saved, 
when  there  could  bo  no  salvation  without  cir- 
cumcision. This  seems  to  be  about  the  way  the 
matter  stood  in  the  minds  of  those  men  who 
came  to  Antioch,  declaring  to  the  Christians 
there,  "Except  ye  be  circumcised  after  the 
maimer  of  Moses,  ye  cannot  be  saved."    It  was 


1  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  iii.  p.  2606. 


IT 

^ 


156 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  80. 


not  merely  ti  question  as  to  whether  Jews  who 
had  become  Christians  and  Gentiles  who  had 
become  Christians,  were  to  meet  together  as 
equals  or  to  remain  apart  as  two  castes,  —  the 
Jews  always  being  the  superior  order,  while 
the  Gentiles  must  be  satisfied  with  a  more 
humble  attitude,  —  but  whether  Gentiles  could 
1)0  Christians  at  all  or  not.  This  was  the 
question  which  these  Judaizing  interlopers 
stirred  up  in  the  church  at  Antioch.  But  Paul 
and  Barnabas  met  them  squarely  with  the  truth 
as  Jesus  taught  it,  "  He  that  believeth  on 
me  hath  everlasting  life."  *  The  church,  how- 
ever, was  divided  ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  very 
foundations  of  Christianity  were  to  be  shaken  to 
pieces,  even  before  they  were  completed.  It 
was  especially  perplexing  to  the  Gentiles  who 
had  become  Christians,  to  see  those  to  whom 
they  had  looked  as  guides  contending  over  a 
question  of  such  vital  importance.  Many  of 
them  must  have  believed  ihvi  not  only  their 
standing  in  the  Christian  church,  but  their  eter- 
nal life,  depended  upon  the  settlement  of  the 
debate.  It  was  an  occasion  of  great  anxiety  for 
the  church  at  Antioch.  They  preferred,  how- 
ever, to  have  the  matter  thoroughly  examined, 
and  settled  upon  an  indisputable  basis.  Ac- 
cordingly they  agreed  to  send  a  deputation  to 

1  John  vi.  47. 


L 


iET.44.]    THE  COUNCIL  AT  JERUSALEM. 


157 


Jerusalem  to  confer  with  the  pastors  and  apos- 
tles there  in  regard  to  it.  Barnabas,  Saul,  and 
Titus, ^ — 11  young  Greek  Christian,  who  himself 
had  not  been  circumcised,  —  with  others,  were 
appointed  for  thi.^  i)urpose. 

The  journey  overland  from  Antioch  to  Jeru- 
saleUi  would  occupy  nearly  a  month.  The 
apostles  followed  the  coast-road,  traversing  a 
narrow  strip  of  beautiful  country  that  lay  be- 
tween the  chain  of  Lebanon  and  the  sparkling 
sea,  passing  on  their  way  through  fertile  grain- 
fields  and  luxuriant  orchards,  and  halting  in 
every  town  and  village  to  tell  the  Christians, 
who  would  hastily  gather  to  listen  to  them,  how 
the  Gentiles  had  been  converted ;  for  already 
there  were  Christian  churches  all  along  this 
coast,  and  Paul  wanted  them  to  know  the  good 
news.  In  this  way  they  passed  through  Phoe- 
nicia and  Samaria,  gladdening  all  hearts,  until 
they  reached  the  ever-famous  city  sitting  on  its 
two  hills,  and  crowned  with  that  temple  which 
looked  from  a  distance  like  "  a  mount  of  snow, 
fretted  with  golden  pinnacles."  ^ 

James,  Peter,  and  John  were  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  mother-church ;  and  with  them 
Paul,  Barnabas,  and  Titus  held  their  first  con- 
ference, and  apparently  these  six  men  came  to 


1  Acts  XV.  2;  Gal.  ii.  \. 

»  Milman:  "History  of  the  Jews,"  ii.  343. 


i 


J 


y    ! 


I 


I 


\. 


ill  ! 


1     I;! 


'    \ 


1 


158 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  BO. 


a  mutual  understanding.  But  they  were  not 
competent  to  decide  authoritatively  upon  the 
questions  at  issue  ^v^ithout  consulting  the  church. 
A  public  meeting  was  called,  and,  as  was  inevita- 
ble, but  not  necessarily  harmful,  there  followed 
considora  jle  sharp  questioning  and  discussion ; 
and  the  Christian  Pharisees  again  asserted, 
what  had  already  l»een  declared  with  great 
positiveness  at  Antiocb,  that  the  Gentile  Chris- 
tians must  be  circumcised  and  keep  the  law  of 
Moses,  ^t  length  Peter  rose  to  speak.  He 
reminded  them  that  God  had  taught  him  to 
make  no  distinctions  of  this  kind ;  that,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  even  there  in  Palestine,  Gentiles 
had  been  converted,  and  that  Jews  as  well  as 
they  might  hope  to  be  saved  only  "  through  the 
grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  The  great 
audience  was  silent.  Peter's  argument  was  un- 
answerable. In  a  few  moments  Barnabas  ad- 
dressed the  assembly  and  also  Paul,  both  of 
whom  related  the  wonderful  things  God  had 
done  through  them  on  their  recent  missionary 
tour  in  Pisidia  and  Lycaonia. 

But  there  was  still  another  whose  opinion  wf  s 
waited  for  by  the  multitude,  — the  pastor  of  the 
Jerusalem  church,  "James  the  Just." 

God  uses  for  the  progress  of  His  work  both 
men  of  extreme  and  of  radical  opinions,  and  also 
men  of  moderate  views,  —  middle  men,  who, 


JET.  44.]         THE    COUNCIL   AT   JERUSALEM. 


159 


on  occasions  when  the  church  is  divided  into 
factions,  can  stand  between,  and,  reaching  a 
hand  toward  each,  can  draw  the  two  parties  to- 
gether. Such  a  man  was  James.  The  Phari- 
saic Christians  respected  his  judgment,  as  did 
also  those  who  hjid  adopted  the  larger  and  more 
spiritual  view  of  Christianity.  This  man  "  now 
came  forward,  and  solemnly  pronounced  that  the 
Mosaic  rites  were  not  of  eternal  obligation,"  * 
and  that  the  Gentile  Christians  ought  not  to  be 
troubled  about  them ;  that  if  they  abandoned 
the  worship  of  idols  and  the  immoral  practices 
to  which  thev  had  been  accustomed,  and  be- 
lieved  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  it  was  enough.  This 
carried  the  assembly,  and  immediately  a  vote 
was  passed  unanimously  adopting  the  following 
letter  as  the  expression  of  the  mother-church 
tf)  all  the  mission-churches  ;  and  Judas  and  Silas, 
"chief  among  the  brethren,"  were  appointed 
the  accredited  messengers  to  accompany  Paul 
and  Barna])as  and  Titus  on  their  return  to  An- 
tioch  as  the  officii  1  bearers  of  the  decree  of  the 
Council. 

''The  Apostles  anx  the  HhUrs  and  the  Brethren,  to  the 

Gentile  Brethren  in  Atttiofh  and  Syria  and  Cilicia. 
"  Greeting  :  '^ 

"  Whereas  we  have  h«aM  tha*  <?«rtain  men  who  went 
out  from  us  have  troubled  you  witii  words,  and  unsettled 

1  Conybeare  and  Howson,  i.  216. 

2  Compare  Conybeare  and  liU/wson,  i.  221, 


t 


\  R  i  i 


I  f 


160 


LIFE    Of   PAUL. 


[A.D.  50. 


your  souls  by  telling  you  to  circumciso  yourselves  and 
keep  the  Law,  although  we  gave  them  no  such  commis- 
sion: 

"It  has  been  determined  by  us,  being  assembled  with 
one  accord,  to  chose  some  from  ..mongst  ourselves,  and 
send  them  to  you  with  our  beloved  Barnabas  and  Paul, 
men  that  have  hazarded  their  lives  for  the  name  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We  have  sent,  therefore,  Judaa  and 
Silas,  who  themselves  also  will  tell  you  by  word  the 
same  which  we  tell  you  by  letter. 

"  For  it  has  been  determined  by  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
by  us,  to  lay  upon  you  no  greater  burden  than  these  nec- 
essary things :  That  ye  abstain  from  meats  oflFered  to 
idols,  and  from  blood  and  from  things  strangled  and 
from  fornication.  Wherefrom  if  ye  keep  yourselves  it 
shall  be  well  with  you.i     Farewell." 

This  letter  went  to  the  churches  a  messenger 
of  wisdom  and  peace.  It  lifted  a  great  burden 
from  the  hearts  of  the  Grentile  Christians,  while 
at  the  same  moment  it  set  definite  bounds  for 
their  conduct  on  the  side  toward  heathenism. 
See,  in  the  assembly  of  Christians  at  Antioch, 
what  eagerness  sits  upon  every  face  while  they 
wait  for  the  reading  of  the  letter !  Not  one 
word  is  lost ;  but  there  may  have  been  some 

1  Paul  adds,  in  tlie  second  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Gala- 
tians,  three  facts,  not  mentioned  ])v  Luke  :  1.  That  Titus,  who  ac- 
coTipanied  them  from  Antioch,  though  a  Greek,  was  not  circum- 
cised (v.  3).  2.  Tlisit  John,  who  had  been  silent  in  the  Council, 
united  with  James  and  Peter  in  jrivinfr  Barnabas  and  him  the  hand 
of  fellowship  on  their  departure  (v.  9).  3.  That  the  brethren  in 
Jerusalem  urged  him  in  hi^  future  travels  amosp  the  weallliy 
Gentiles  not  to  forget  the  poor  saints  at  Jerusalem  (v.  10). 


J\'' 


JEt.H.]         the    council   at   JERUSALEM. 


161 


things  not  clearly  understood  until  Judas  and 
Silas  explained  more  fully  just  what  the  church 
at  Jerusalem  meant.  Where  now  are  those 
busy  bodies  who  in  the  first  place  stirred  up  this 
trouble  by  asseiting  that  the  Gentiles  must  be 
circumcised-'  They  have  entirely  disappeared. 
The  iitronir  and  clejir  statement  of  the  truth  has 
been  like  a  i-isinir  tide,  which  cleanses  the  sands 
and  buri'^s  in  its  l>eautiful  depths  many  an  offen- 
sive mass  of  death  and  decay. 

The  two  men  who  went  from  Jerusalem  to 
Antioch  with  the  letter  to  the  churches  soon 
afterward  returned ;  but  .Silas  had  become  so 
much  interested  in  Paul  and  his  work  that 
not  long  after  he  is  in  Antioch  again,  and  after- 
ward went  with  the  Great  Apostle  to  visit  the 
churches  in  Asia  Minor,  and  accompanied  him 
into  Greece. 

All  these  men,  Paul,  Barnabas,  Titus,  Silas, 
Mark,  with  perhaps  thoise  first  ministers  in 
Antioch,  Simeon  Niger,  Lucius,  and  Meimhem, 
and  no  dou  som^  others  whose  names  are  un- 
known, continued  to  preach  Christ  to  the  peo- 
ple of  the  great  and  wicked  cky.  But  the  good 
work  of  God  never  moves  on  with  special  suc- 
cess without  meeting  some  obstacles  ;  and  on 
this  occasion  the  obstacle  arose  in  an.  unex- 
pected quarter.  Peter  also  was  at  the  Syrian 
capital,  and  had  apparently  been  ifiignged  in  the 


i      !;       5I 

ll  fl 


162 


LIFE   OF  PAUL. 


[A.D.  BO. 


work  of  the  Gospel  with  the  rest.  ^  In  harmony 
with  the  decree  of  the  Jerusalem  council,  and 
also  with  his  own  conduct  at  Caesarea,  ^  he 
mingled  freely  with  the  Gentile  Christians,  even 
to  eating  with  them.  This  he  continued  to  do, 
until  some  of  those  Jewish  Christians  of  James' 
church,  who  had  not  yet  leained  l>y  heart  that 
"  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons,"  came  and  saw 
how  free  and  liberal  he  was.  At  once  they  com- 
menced to  find  fault  and  ridicule  and  argue  with 
him,  and  to  protest  against  such  questionable 
conduct.  Peter  was  always  a  vacillator,  and 
under  the  pressure  of  these  men  he  weakly 
yielded,  and  withdrew  from  the  fellowship  of  the 
Gentile  Christians.  Others  went  off  with  Peter, 
and  even  Barnabas  was  carried  away  by  the 
false  reproscntations,  to  deny  to  the  Gentiles 
that  larger  liberty  which  lie  had  advocated  and 
practised  in  Cyprus  and  Lycaonia,  and,  "in  re- 
memberincT  that  he  was  a  Levite  forgot  that  he 
was  a  Christian."^  This  was  a  thrust  at  the 
truth  from  one  of  its  friends ,  which  Paul  must 
parry.  In  public,  therefore,  on  some  occasion 
when  Peter  was  prenent,  the  holy  indignation  of 
this  younger  ])ut  truer  man  broke  out  in  rebuke 
of  the  one  who  had  been  so  much  longer  a  dis- 
ciple, and  who  had  enjoyed  personal  companion- 


1  Gal.  ii.  11-21. 

8  Furrar:  "St.  Puul,"  i.  441. 


2  Acts  X.  34,  35. 


I        *    :    \.\ 


iET.44.]    THE  COUNCIL  AT  JERUSALEM. 


163 


ship  for  three  or  four  years  with  the  Lord 
himself,  but  who  had  through  fear  denied  the 
truth. 

It  may  be  that  this  was  the  beginning  of  that 
alienation  of  Barnabas  from  Paul,  which  ended 
very  soon  in  their  final  separation  as  mission- 
aries. But  between  Peter  and  Paul  there  was 
no  quurrel.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  Peter, 
with  his  natural  susceptibility,  was  convinced  of 
his  error  on  the  spot  and  acknowledged  it.  We 
read  the  generous,  loving  words  he  wrote  years 
afterward,  "owr  beloved  brother  Paul";^  and 
with  them  in  mind  can  throw  the  cloak  of 
charity  over  the  mistake  of  this  impetuous, 
large-hearted  servant  of  our  Lord,  and,  think- 
ing of  our  own  faults,  can  pray  for  a  spirit  of 
repentance  as  quick  and  as  thorough  as  his. 

1  2  Peter,  iii.  15. 


^p^^--^ 


PART  THIRD. 


gltje  »tcon&  '^is^iomx^  ^onxntvi. 


( 


' 


CHAPTER  Xin. 


A 


THROUGH  ASIA  MINOR. 

"  For  thine  own  pui-posc,  thou  hast  sent 
The  strjlc  and  the  discouragement." 

H.  W.  Longfellow. 

"  Awalie !  why  lin;j:er  in  the  gorgeous  town, 
Sworn  liegemen  of  tlie  Cross  and  thorny  crown  ? 

Keble. 

GAIN  peace  reigned  in  the  Antioch 
churches ;  and,  as  soon  as  this  was  evi- 
dent to  him,  "the  old  mission-hunger  seized  the 
heart  of  Paul,"  and  he  must  be  away  to  the 
regions  beyond.  He  could  not  remain  at 
Antioch,  where  there  were  so  many  others 
who  could  do  the  work.  His  heart  was  turn- 
ing toward  the  little  churches  Barnabas  and  he 
had  gathered  in  Asia  Minor.  To  Barnabas, 
therefore,  he  made  the  proposal  that  they  go 
and  visit  the  brethren  in  every  city  where  they 
went  before,  and  see  how  they  do.^  It  was 
about  five  years  before  that  these  two  men 
left  Antioch  to  go  to  Cyprus,  taking  John 
Mark  with   them.     That  young  man   did  not 


1  Acts  XV.  36. 


167 


i-i 


I 


' 


\\ 


168 


LIFE   OF  PAUL. 


[A.D.  45. 


prove  to  be  a  very  bold  champion ;  and  so, 
when  Ba'(  liabas  proposed  to  try  him  again,  and 
insisted  even  that  they  should  take  him,  Paul 
objected.  To  P:uil  friendship  and  relationship 
were  of  small  impoilancc  compared  with  the 
success  of  the  Gospel;  and  he  feared  that, 
instead  of  l)eing  helped,  they  would  only  he 
hindered,  !)y  a  companion  who  at  a  critical 
moment  might  desert  them.  There  was  a 
*'  sharp  contention "  between  the  missionary 
pioneers.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
these  two  great  positive  characters  could  not 
always  agree  upon  subordinate  matters.  The 
same  (jJod  who  made  them  great  also  made  them 
different ;  and  we  can  now  see  how  their  separa- 
tion may  have  resulted  in  great  good  than 
their  continued  companionship  might  have,  for 
by  this  means  two  lines  of  operation  instead  of 
one  were  opened.  Barnabas  would  not  re- 
linquish the  idea  of  taking  his  cousin  Mark 
with  him.  He  took  him,  therefore,  and, 
leaving  Antioch,  went  to  Cyprus,  his  native 
island ;  and  whatever  sphere  of  usefulness  he 
may  have  filled  in  the  churches  there,  either  at 
ISaiamis  or  Paphos,  the  history  from  this  point 
onward  never  mentions  his  name,  nor  makes 
the  slightest  reference  to  his  work.  On  the 
contrary,  Paul  chose  Silas ;  and,  while  Bar- 
nabas and  Mark  went  away  unnoticed,  these 


\\ 


xy 


;Rt.  4/5. 


THROUGH    ASIA    MINOR. 


1«9 


two  receive  at  their  depMrturo  the  distinguisli- 
ing  honor  of  heinir  "commended  by  the  breth- 
ren to  tha  grace  of  tlie   Lord." 

Paul's  iirst  object  was  to  visit  the  churches 
which  Barnabas  and  he  had  organized  in  Cikcia 
and  Lycaonia  and  Plirygia,  and  to  carry  to 
them  the  letter  sent  from  the  tJerusalem  church. 
With  Sihis,  therefore,  he  left  Antioch,  and 
prol)ably  took  the  road  directly  to  the  north 
across  A  Fount  Amanus  by  the  Syrian  Gates,  at 
the  northern  exit  of  which  they  came  to  the 
town  of  Alexandria,  and  a  few  miles  farther 
to  Issus.  Still  pushing  on,  they  "would  soon 
turn  their  faces  toward  the  west,  descend  into 
the  plain  of  Cilicia,  cross  the  rivers  Djihan  and 
Seihun,  pass  through  Mopsuestia,  Adana,  and 
the  rich,  beautiful  country  lying  around  these 
towns,  to  the  swift-running  Cydnus  and  to  Tar- 
sus, the  great  missionary's  native  city.  This 
was  a  spot  dear  to  Paul.  He  had  preached  in 
Tarsus  three  years,  and  doubtless  there  was  a 
Christian  church  here.  It  was  still  a  heathen 
city,  "  the  temples  and  statues  of  false  gods  lin- 
inor  its  streets ; " '  but  the  ffood  seed  had  been 
planted  and  was  bearing  fruit. 

The  upper  vallej^  of  the  Cydnus,  into  the 
snowy  Taurus,  and  by  the  cliff-guarded  Cili- 
cian   Gates,   opened  a   liighway  to   the   table- 

»  Macduff;  "  Footsteps  of  St.  Paul,"  169. 


I 


! 


i 


1 


r\ 


!  t 


I 


170 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  SI. 


land  of  Centml  Asia  Minor,  and  by  this  road 
the  apostles  go,  —  Paul  again  braving  the 
dangers  and  hardships  of  a  wild  and  robber- 
infested  country.  Three  or  four  days  from 
Tarsus  would  bring  the  travellers  to  that  little 
mountain-town  of  Derbe,  the  last  point  which 
Paul  and  Barnabas  reached  in  their  former 
journey  from  the  opposite  direction.  Their 
coming  now  must  have  been  a  delightful 
surprise  to  the  Christians.  In  the  absence 
of  historical  statements  we  are  left  to  wonder, 
Was  Gaius  the  pastor  of  the  little  flock  ?  *  Did 
they  press  inquiries  upon  Paul  about  Barna- 
bas, why  he  did  not  come  again?  Did  they 
welcome  Silas  ?  Did  they  make  a  contribution 
for  the  poor  saints  in  Jerusalem?  Had  they 
kept  the  faith? 

They  came  next  to  Lystra,  where  Paul  had 
been  stoned  and  carried  out  supposed  to  be  dead. 
It  was  strange  that  in  this  obscure  town,  away 
back  of  the  mountains,  Paul  should  have  found 
the  one  Christian  heart  whom  he  loved  more 
than  any  other,  — the  one  whom,  from  this  time 
to  the  end  of  his  life,  he  distinguished  by  the 
afl:*ectionate  titles  :  "My  own  son  in  the  faith," 
"My  beloved  son,"  "Son  Timothy,"  "My 
brother,"  "My  work-fellow." ^  There  was  no 
one,  in  the  Great  Apostle's  estimation,  like  Timo- 


1  Acts  XX.  4. 


3  Fhil.  ii.  20. 


Mr.  45.1 


THROUGH    ASIA   MINOR. 


171 


^'^.^i' 


thy.  "  Pie  was,  more  than  any  other,  the  altei- 
ego  of  the  Apostle.  Their  knowledge  of  each 
other  was  mutual ;  and  one  whose  yearning  and 
often  lacerated  heart  had  such  deep  need  of  a 
kindred  spirit  on  which  to  lean  for  sympathy, 
and  whose  distressing  infirmities  rendered  nec- 
essary to  him  the  personal  services  of  some 
affectionate  companion,  must  have  regarded  the 
devoted  tenderness  of  Timothy  as  a  special  gift 
of  God  to  save  him  from  being  crushed  by  over- 
much sorrow."* 

Probably,  on  entering  the  town,  Paul  and  Silas 
went  directly  to  Timothy's  home,  and  their 
wants  were  provided  for  by  his  mother,  Eunice, 
while  the  aged  grandmother,  Lois,  conversed 
with  them  of  all  the  wonderful  things  that  God 
had  done  the  last  twenty  years,  and  the  youth, 
Timothy,  listened.  Already  Paul,  seeing  that 
he  possessed  the  spirit  of  a  missionary,  had 
set  his  heart  upon  him,  and  he  would  take  him 
away  to  the  work.  Timothy's  mother  was  a 
Jewess ;  but  their  residence  in  this  heathen  dis- 
trict, where  there  was  no  Jewish  synagogue, 
had  resulted  in  the  neglect  of  circumcision. 
This  rite  having  been  performed,  because  Timo- 
thy was  a  Jew,  and  "because  of  the  Jews 
which  were  in  those  quarters,"  "the  gentle  boy 
of  Lystra  "  was  formally  ordained  to  the  minis- 

1  Farrar:  "St.  Paul,"  1.459. 


/ 


r 


172 


LIFK   OF   PAUL. 


tA.n.  5l. 


try,  henceforth  to  endure  hardships  as  a  good 
soldier  of  the  cross  of  Christ. 

From  Lystra  the  Apostle  with  his  two  com- 
panions proceeded  to  Iconium,  and  on  to  An- 
tioch  in  Pisidia.  This  was  the  end  of  the  mis- 
sion Paul  had  purposed  when  he  left  Antioch 
on  the  Orontes ;  but  the  "  mission-hunger  '* 
would  not  let  him  rest.  There  was  still  a  vast 
and  widening  circle  where  the  Gospel  had  not 
been  preached  ;  so  that,  after  they  had  visited  all 
the  fields  where  tlic  Word  had  been  spoken,  and 
had  seen  the  churches  settled  upon  good  foun- 
dations, he  set  his  face  toward  the  wildest  and 
most  neglected  district  of  Asia  Minor,  feeling 
that  the  peoi)le  there  most  of  all  needed  the 
knowledge  of  JesMs  the  Saviour. 

Antioch  lay  in  the  northern  corner  of  Pisidia, 
hugged  around,  north,  east,  and  west,  by  the 
province  of  Phrygin .  Into  this  province,  then,  the 
apostolic  band  went,  crossing  the  mountain-ridge 
Paroreia  to  the  town  of  Philomclium,  where  they 
would  strike  the  main  road.  The  New  Testa- 
ment gives  us  no  particulars  at  all  of  this  jour- 
ney, except  that  they  went  through  Plirygia  and 
the  region  of  Galatia.^  We  are  obliged,  there- 
fore, to  content  ourselves  with  following  what 
would  b(^  the  most  natur? i  course  for  them  to 
take  in  traversing  these  provinces.     This  course, 

'  Acts  :ivi.  6. 


Mt.  45.] 


THROUGH   ASIA   MINOR. 


173 


probably,  brought  them  to  the  largest  cities  of 
these  districts, — to  cities  many  of  which  are 
known  now  only  by  their  riiius :  Synnada, 
Docymeum,  Doryleum,  IMidaMum  and  Tricomi.'i,^ 
until  they  came,  a.  they  travelled  east  through 
Phrygia,  to  the  horders  oi'  Galatia. 

Galatia  has  a  special  interest  for  us,  on  account 
of  the  letter  which  Paul  afterwards  wrote  to  the 
churches  there,  and  of  the  warm  aHection  he 
maintained  for  those  whom  he  met  on  this  first 
visit.  Its  history  is  curious.  In  the  first  place, 
the  name  GaJiitm  takes  our  thoughts  back  to 
ancient  Gaulywhkh  Coesar  conquered,  and  which 
in  our  day  is  France.  The  Gauls  were  a  brave 
and  pushing  race  of  people ;  but  they  did  not 
possess  the  spirit  or  genius  of  permanent  local- 
ized nationality. 

Their  migrations  and  constant  wars  with  the 
surrounding  nations  scattered  them.  Some  re- 
mained upon  the  original  territory,  and  were 
the  progenitors  of  the  modern  French.  A  rem- 
nant of  them  found  their  way  into  the  north  of 
Scotland,  to  become  the  fathers  of  the  Gaels,  and 
to  develop  the  Gaelic  dialect.  Another  branch 
is  seen  in  Wales,  originally  called  Wallia,  or 
Gallia;  still  another  appears  in  Ireland  ;  while 
one  pushed  south  through  the  Pyrenees,  swarmed 
across  northern  Italy  into  Macedonia,  leaped  the 

•  Lewiu,  I.  177,  and  map,  p.  164. 


/ 


\ 


174 


LIFE   OF    PAUL. 


[A.n.  51. 


Hellespont,  spread  their  tents  for  a  little  time  in 
the  plains  around  ancient  Troy,  pillaged  and 
desolated  the  less  warlike  countries  of  Asia 
Minor,  until  finally,  hy  the  consolidation  of  other 
tribes,  they  were  driven  back  to  a  limited  terri- 
tory in  the  heart  of  the  peninsula,  to  which  was 
given  the  name  Galatia.  This  territory  was 
originally  divided  between  three  tribes  having 
three  capitals  :  Pessinus,  Ancyra,  and  Tavium. 
When,  in  B.  C.  25,  Gahitia  became  a  Roman 
province,  Ancyra  —  possibly  on  account  of  its 
central  position  —  was  made  the  capital  of  the 
whole  province. 

Paul  and  hi  las  and  Timothy  would  come  first 
to  Pessinus.  This  liad  been  for  centuries  the 
religious  heart  of  ( ialatia.  Here  the  "  Xature- 
Nvorship  which  found  its  centre  in  Cybele,  the 
great  mother  of  the  gods,"^  had  been  main- 
tained, and  it  was  not  entirely  dead  in  Paul's 
day.  At  Ancyra  (the  bright,  busy,  modern 
city  of  Angora)  they  saw  "  the  gorgeous  temple 
of  white  marble,'"^  built  in  honor  of  Augustus, 
to  whom  divine  rites  were  here  celebrated. 
Still  farther  east  was  Tavium,  the  connnercial 
emporium  of  this  part  of  Asia  Minor.  Five 
great  roads  centred  in  this  city,  which,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  fact  that  it  was  situated  on  the  banks 


'  Pliiniptre  :  "  St.  Paul  iu  Asia  Minor,"  p.  155. 
-  Lcwiii,  I.  Ib3. 


^T.  48.] 


TIIISOrOH    ASIA    MINOR. 


175 


of  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Halys,  are  suf- 
titient  evidence  of  the  amount  of  traffic  which 
passed  through  Tavium.  To  each  of  these 
"ifli?"  the  missionaries  went  with  the  story,  so 
riuii  und  strange  to  the  jK^ople,  of  the  8s  ur. 
Je«^s  ;  and  in  each  of  tiiem,  probaldy,  Christian 
churches  were  at  this  time  organized.* 

Paul's  letter,  written  to  these  churches  from 
Corinth  several  years  afterward,  speaks  from  the 
herirt  the  memory  of  his  tirst  rece})tion  by  the 
Galatians."-*  He  seems  to  have  been  ill  on  his 
arrival  there  or  soon  after,  and  this  may  have 
obliofed  him  to  remain  lontror  than  he  otherwise 
would.  Leu  in  and  Farrar  assume  that  this 
*'  iiitirmity  of  the  tiesh  "  was  "acute  ophthalmia, 
accompanied,  as  it  often  is,  by  violent  cerebral 
disturbance, "3  which  was  so  severe  as  "not  only 
to  injure  the  vision,  but  also  to  render  him  a 
distressing  object  to  every  beholder."'*  The 
Apostle's  condition  appealed  to  the  sympathy  of 
the  warm-hearted  Oalatians,  and  they  treated 
him  with  enthusiastic  devotion.  Many  of  them 
had  received  the  word  of  eternal  life  from  his 
lips  :  and,  as  he  reminds  them  in  his  letter,  they 

1  Oncol'  I  lie  leading  churches  of  the  first  centuries  was  that  at 
Ancyra.  Coimcils  couvcneil  there  in  A.D.  314  and  358.  Sec  Mil- 
man's  "  History  of  Christianity,"  ill.  Book  iv.  chap.  1. 

-'  Gal.  iv.  12-1-), 

3  Farrar  :  "  St.  Paul,"  l  467. 
Lewin,  i.  186. 


/■^ 


■^"^Ti»9r?r 


jl    li 


17« 


LIFE    OF    PArL. 


[A.D.  f)2. 


i     f 

Mi 


t 


■  ' 


would  lijive  (lu<i^  out  their  own  eves  and  i£\\\,a 
thcni  to  him,  if  it  had  been  pos.sible. 

We  must,  however,  hasten  out  of  this  interior 
province,  following  the  restless  footsteps  of  the 
huirylng  herald  and  iiis  companions,  as  they 
flv  from  one  cfreat  centre  to  another  with  the 
glad  tidings.  "The  world  was  to  be  Chris- 
tianize<l  by  a  few  fishermen  from  Galilee  and  a 
tent-m.dver  from  Tarsus,  and  it  was  neces- 
sarv  that  their  labors  should  be  so  husbanded 
that  the  (Christian  ministry  might  be  the  most 
effective." ' 

We  see  them  going  through  Phrygia,  appar- 
ently with  the  intention  of  turning  southwest 
into  the  province  of  Asia,  to  visit  all  the  rich 
country  and  flourishing  cities  in  the  valley  of 
the  ]\Iseander,  and  of  making  P^phesus  the  ter- 
mination of  their  journey  ;  but  "the  inward  guid- 
ance, in  wliicli  they  recognized  the  teaching  of 
the  Spirit," 2  turns  them  from  this  purpose. 
They  push  on  to  the  borders  of  Mysia,  thinking 
that  they  will  go  north  into  Bithynia  ;  '4  again 
a  true  and  strong  conviction  is  borne  a  upon 
their  ininds  that  this  is  not  just  the  course  which 
will  best  promote  the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  and 
they  keep  straight  on,  until  they  come  into  that 
classic  ground  Ivini;  in  the  morning-shadow  of 
Mount  Ida,  where,  — 


1  Lewiu,  1.  192. 


•^  Plumptrc,  p.  173. 


M.T.  46.) 


TIinOlJUll*A^A    MINOIf. 


177 


"  When  both  iirniies  were  arniycd  for  wnr, 
Eiioh  with  its  ships,  the  Trojan  iin,t  moved  on 
With  shouts  and  chuiH:  of  arms,  as  wlion  the  cry 
Of  cranes  is  in  the  aii',  that,  llyin;,'  south 
From  winter  and  its  mighty  hrtadth  of  rain, 
Wing  their  way  over  oeeau,  and  at  thuvn 
Bring  feailid  Itattle  lo  l^ic  pigmy  race, 
Bh)odshed  and  death.     Hut  silently  the  Greeks 
Went  forward,  l)reatliing  valor,  mindful  still 
To  aid  each  other  iu  the  coming  fray."  t 

Having  passed  jiroiind  the  southern  spur  of 
Mount  Ida,  they  went  down  its  western  slopes, 
befoi-e  them  in  the  distance  the  "  blue  waters  of 
the  ^^gean  "  bathing  Tenedos,  Imbros,  Lemnos, 
and  Saniothracia,  while  at  their  feet  lay  Alexan-  ^ 
dria  Troas,  —  a  port  at  whose  docks  they  Avere 
quite  sure  to  find  vessels  waiting  to  carry  them 
back  to  Antioch,  to  Jerusalem,  or  forward  to 
Athens,  io  Rome,  or  to  any  other  point  on  the 
Mediterranean  where  they  might  decide  to  go. 
In  this  city  the  footsore  travellers  tind  a  lodging- 
place.  The  soft  wings  of  night  are  spread  over 
them.  They  commit  themselves  to  the  care 
and  guidance  of  Him  who  never  leaves  nor  for- 
sakes His  followers  ;  and  blessed  sleep  comes  to 
the  weary  eyes  of  Paul  and  Silas  and  Timothy 
in  this  strange  city,  while  they  do  not  know 
what  their  next  step  will  be. 

1  Iliad,  Biyaut^s  trausl.,  iii.  110. 


/, 


i, 


li 


fv  X 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

UP  TO  PHILIPPI. 

•'  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  make  (Jisciples  of  all  nations." —  Matt. 
xxviil.  19.    (Revised  Version.) 

"  And  we  f^rlode  fast  o'er  a  pellucid  plain 
Of  waters,  a/.iirc  with  the  noon-tide  ruy. 
Ethereal  mountains  shone  around  :  a  fane 
Stood  in  the  midst,  heyond  {jreen  isles  which  lay 
On  the  blue,  sunny  deep,  resplendent  far  away."  —  Shkllet. 

"  Thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods."  —  2  CoR.  .\i.  25. 

T  CAN  never  picture  to  myself  without  emo- 
-*-  tion,"  said  a  great  French  preacher,  "the 
moment  when  St.  Paul  reached  the  seashore 
at  Troas,  and  for  tlie  tirst  time  stood  gazing 
across  the  blue  waters  of  the  Hellespont  towards 
Europe.  Already,  in  the  first  rapture  of  his 
missionary  ardor,  had  he  traversed  the  entire 
Western  Asia,  proclaiming  Jesus  Christ.  .  .  . 
But  .  .  .  beyond  tlio  sea  rolling  at  his  feet  he 
sees  Greece,  with  her  arts  and  her  divinities, 
which  had  charmed  the  world ;  he  sees  Rome, 
the  mistress  city,  with  all  peoples  kneeling 
before  her ;  ho  takes  in  this  world  with  thft 
\1  broad  glance  of  his  apostolic  ambition ;  he 
178 


^T.  46.] 


UP   TO    PHILIPPI. 


179 


dreams   this   dream,  strange,  extravagant,  of 
subjecting  it  to  Jesus  Christ." ' 

Not  a  day  seems  to  have  been  spent  at  Troas. 
That  night  in  a  vision  tho  form  of  a  Macedonian 
stood  before  Paul  and  said,  ''Come  over  into 
Macedonia  and  help  us  ! "  ^  This  he  understood 
to  be,  as  it  no  doubt  vvas,  the  divine  direction; 
and  with  devout  promptness  he  o])eycd  the  com- 
mand of  his  Lord,  delivered  l)y  the  lips  of  a  man 
from  Macedonia,  and  at  once  in  the  early  morn- 
ing the  apostles  might  have  been  seen  on  the 
wharves  inquiring  about  the  sailings  of  different 
vessels,  and  securing  their  passage  for  Ncapolis 
in  the  northern  province  of  Greece. 

Another  figure  appears  at  this  point  in  the 
apostolic  group,  — "  Luke  the  beloved  physician." 
This  is  indicated  by  the  single  word  "  we,"  by 
which  the  writer  of  the  history  modestly  intro- 
duces himself  with  the  other  three  as  they  are 
leaving  Troas.  Up  to  this  point  he  has  invari- 
ably used  the  pronoun  "they."  Luke  was  a 
resident  of  Antioeh  in  Syria,  and  Paul  and  he 
probably  began  i"  that  city  the  acquaintance 
which,  during  the  great  missionary's  life,  aflforded 
him  so  much  comfort ;  for  there  vvas  no  one,  ex- 
cept Timothy,  to  whom  Paul  was  so  much  at- 
tached as  to  Luke.  It  has  been  assunied  that  it 
was  probably  not  by  mere  accident  that  they  left 


/ 


i  Eugene  Bersier ;  "  St.  Paul's  Vision."  ■^  (Jol.  iv.  14. 


u 


I 


'  f 


180 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  52. 


Troas  to<?ether  ;  Init  that  Paul's  health  was  in  such 
a  condition  that  ho  needed  the  care  of  some  ex- 
perienced and  loving  hand.  Luke  accompanied 
them  to  Philipi)i,  where  they  parted  company 
to  meet  again  after  several  years,  when  on  the 
third  missionary  journey  Paul  once  more  re- 
turned to  this  city.^ 

The  vessel  on  leaving  the  dock  at  Troas 
turned  her  dancing  prow  straight  to  the  north- 
west ;  and,  while  the  south  wind  filled  her  sails 
and  the  glad  sailors  sanir  a  rolling  sonff  in  time 
with  her  quick  movement,  she  sped  on  from 
shore  to  shore  a  hundred  miles  or  more,  till  (ho 
plains  of  Troy  sunk  out  of  sight  and  Mount 
Ida  grew  dim  hcliind  a  purple  veil.  Gliding 
around  Tenedos  and  Imbros,  she  anchored  for 
the  night  under  the  northern  lee  of  Samothrace, 
from  far  above  whose  snow-crowned  j^eak 
(from  which,  as  Homer  tells,  Ne})tune  watched 
the  battles  of  the  Greeks  and  Trojans  before  the 
gates  of  Troy)  the  Infinite  God  watched  over 
the  little  vessel  with  its  precious  freight,  rock- 
ing by  the  shore.     In  the  morning  the  first  ray 

1  "The  natural  inference  i>,  that  during-  the  interval  Luke  had 
continued  at  his  post  in  T'liilippi.  It  was  probably  durinir  this  pe- 
riod that  liUke  composed  lii:?  (Jospel  lor  the  (Jrceks,  as  Matthew  had 
done  lielbre  I'or  the  Hebrews,  and  as  Mark  did  aftiT\\ard.>  for  the 
Latins.  When  Taul  returned  to  Phili|)pi,  in  A.I).  r)7,  and  wrote 
the  Second  Epistle  to  tlie  (  (iriiiiiiians,  tlie  tiospel  of  Luke  had 
been  recently  publi'^hcd,  foi  Paul  sjnak';  nf  him  as  'the  brother 
whose  nruise  is  iu  the  Gospel'  [2  Lor.  viii.  18J."  —  LEWliN,  I.  22L 


^•r.46.] 


UP  TO   nilLIPPI. 


181 


of  sunlight  thsit  shot  across  the  waves  saw  them 
leaving  tluMi*  anchorage  at  this  island,  and  car- 
ried forward  by  a  most  favora))le  breeze.  Soon 
they  arc  watching  the  mountainous  coast  of 
Macedonia,  and  l)cibre  nightfall  they  pass  be- 
tween Thasos  and  the  mainland  and  run  into  the 
harbor  of  Neapolis. 

The  apostles  of  Christ  are  now  upon  tiic  soil  of 
the  most  remarkable  and  farthest- famed  country 
of  the  world.  At  that  date  (ircccc  wms  cut  up  into 
a  number  of  Koman  provinces  ;  but  her  glory  iiM 
life  had  not  departed.  She  was  Greece  still,— 
the  Greece  of  Homer  and  Demosthenes  and  Peri- 
cles and  Alexander.  Her  name  was  then,  as  it 
has  been  ever  since,  the  talismanic  symbol  for 
all  that  is  most  ideal  in  literature  and  art.  Her 
cities  were  the  most  beautiful  in  all  the  world, 
and  her  citizens  were  the  proudest  of  their  citi- 
zenshij).  They  had  good  reason  for  their  dig- 
niiied  pride.  "There  were  never  any  better 
soldiers ;  never  any  ))etter  sailors ;  never  any 
better  colom'zers  and  traders  :  never  anv  better 
sculptors,  pjiinters,  arcliitocts  ;  never  an}' better 
orators,  poets,  historJMns,  critics,  rlietoricians, 
philosophers,  mntlicmaticians  ;  never  any  better 
leaders,  statesmen,  diplomatists  ;  never  any  bet- 
ter gymnasts,  any  Ix'ttcr  gent  lemon,  any  bet- 
ter wits,  than  vou  will  find  among  the  ancient 
Greeks;    juid    ccrtaiidy,  in    proj.ortion   to  the 


A 


/ 


I 


182 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.n.  52. 


V 


\J 


number  of  the  whole  j)coplc,  never  so  many 
eminent,  in  the  various  ways  thus  indicated."  * 
We  may  add  to  this  that,  with  the  excci)tion  of 
one  small  nation,  there  were  no  people  in  the 
first  century  whose  ideas  of  religion  were  in  ad- 
vance of  those  of  the  most  devout  Greeks,  Yet 
how  far  they  were  from  the  worship  of  tlic  true 
God,  one  might  learn  by  going  from  city  to  city, 
and  observing  the  myriad  statues  which  lined 
their  streets,  and  the  myriad  altars  to  deities, 
known  and  unknown,  which  crowded  heir  tem- 
ples. The  most  advanced  religious  thought  of 
Greece  did  not  dare  to  entertain  a  conception  of 
deity  higher  than  Olympian  Jove,  with  all  his 
weakness  and  wickedness.  This  country,  rich 
in  literature  and  art,  rich  in  the  memories  of 
heroes  and  the  stories  of  diviiiititjs,  was  yet  ig- 
norant of  the  love  and  patience  of  the  Father  in 
Heaven,  and  of  the  Gospel  of  His  only-begotten 
Son.  What  a  field  for  the  seed  which  is  the 
word  of  God ! 

The  Egnatian  Road,  the  great  thoroughfare 
which  cro>sed  Macedonia  from  east  to  west  and 
tied  together  the  four  capitals  of  its  four  great 
divisions,  had  its  eastern  terminus  at  Xeapolis. 
From  here  it  crossed  the  pass  of  Pangteus,  back 
of  the  port,  and  descended  on  the  opposite  slope 
to  Philippi,  about  ten  miles.     Then  turning  to 


IW.  C.  Wilkinson ;  '*  Preparatory  Greek  Course,"  p.  9. 


XT.  46.] 


UP  TO   PHILIPPI. 


18a 


the  southwest  it  reached  Thessalonica  throii«^li 
a  (liHtance  of  a  hundred  miles  over  mountains 
and  valleys.  From  Lerc,  })assing  westward,  the 
next  capital.  Pella,  was  tnken  in,  aul  last, 
Pi-:LA(i()MA  or  IIkijaclka,  in  the  interior  of  the 
province,  after  Icvr  ing  which  the  great  road 
made  as  straight  a  course  as  was  possible  in 
those  days  to  Apollonia  on  the  \\  estern  coast. 
It  was  a  passage  of  only  a  few  hour-  from  Apol- 
lonia to  Brundusium,  where  the  iraveller  lo 
Rome  set  foot  upon  the  Appian  Way. 

When  then  Paul  and  his  eonipanions  landed 
at  Neapolis  they  were  on  the  highway  to  the 
Imperial  city  ;  and  if  it  had  been  the  purpose  of 
the  Apostle  to  go  directly  there,  and  on  the  way 
to  preach  the  Gospel  in  the  cities  of  Macedonia, 
his  first  steps  would  have  been  the  very  ones  he 
took.     They  went  directly  to  Philippi. 

We  might  linger  for  hours  delighted  along 
this  road  going  out  of  Neapolis,  and  climbing 
the  steep  hills.  We  would  often  stop  and  look 
back  at  the  town  below,  — the  forest  of  masts,  the 
beautiful  bay,  and  in  the  distance  the  summits 
of  Samothrace,  Thasos,  and  Athos.  At  length 
the  top  of  the  ridge  is  reached,  when  another 
view  opens,  —  a  valley  stretching  from  east  to 
west,  across  which  the  cool  Gangas  '  streams. 

1  See  Lewin,  l.  208,  and  llii-kctt,  "Commentary  on  Acts," 
XTi.  13;  called  by  Farnir  "Gangitcis";  by  Uowson,  "  Gaggitas." 


I 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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184 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  62. 


The  background  is  dark,  forest-covered  moun- 
tains, on  the  southern  slope  of  which  lies  a  city, 
the  present  destination  of  our  four  missionaries. 
"One  feels  himself,"  so  Reiian  writes,  "in  an 
atmosphere  similar  to  that  which  gave  birth  to 
the  bucolic  and  sentimental  poetry  of  Virgil. 
The  plain,  ever-verdant,  presented  the  varied 
cultivation  of  vegetables  and  flowers.  Fine 
springs,  gushing  out  from  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain of  golden  marble,  spread,  when  well- 
directed,  richness,  shade,  and  freshness.  Groups 
of  poplars,  willows,  fig-trees,  cherry-trees,  and 
wild  vines,  breathing  out  the  most  delicious 
odor,  hide  the  streams  which  flow  on  every  side. 
Elsewhere,  fields  inundated,  or  covered  with 
high  reeds,  contained  herds  of  buffalo,  with  dull, 
white  eyes  and  enormous  horns,  their  heads 
alone  above  the  water ;  while  bees  and  swarms 
of  black  and  blue  butterflies  whirl  about  the  flow- 
ers. The  Pangaeus,  with  its  majestic  summits  co*^- 
ered  with  snow  till  the  month  of  June,  advances 
as  if  to  cross  the  marsh  and  join  the  city.  Beau- 
tiful chains  of  mountains  close  in  the  horizon 
Oil  all  the  other  sides,  only  leaving  one  opening 
through  which  the  sky  escapes,  and  shows  us  in 
the  clear  distance  the  basin  of  the  Strymon."^ 

About  four  centuries  earlier  than  the  period 
which  we  are  studyinsr,  Philip  of  Macedon,  in 

i"St.  P;uil,"i).  112. 


tarer-'-r.-^iK 


iET.  46.] 


UP    TO    PHILIPn. 


185 


the  first  flush  of  his  victorious  career,  in  order 
to  protect  liis  northern  border,  seized  the  little 
town  of  Crenides,  erected  a  strong  fortress  on 
the  overhanging  mountain,  and  re-named  it  after 
himself,  Phiiippi.  By  contiimed  patronage 
Philip  raised  the  insignificant  town  into  a  large 
and  prosperous  city,  —  an  eminen',.*e  which  it 
maintained  through  all  the  varied  fortunes  of  the 
next  four  centuries,  until  Augustus  conferred 
upon  it  the  privileges  of  a  free  Koman  colony, 
with  exemption  from  taxes  and  with  local  self- 
government.  At  the  same  time  he  settled  there 
a  colony  of  native  Italian  soldiers.  Phiiippi, 
therefore,  was  another  liome  on  a  small  scale. 
It  was  peopled  by  Romans,  its  citizens  spoke 
the  Roman  tongue,  and  prided  themselves  in 
Roman  manners  and  customs.  There  were  very 
few  Jews  in  the  city,  and  there  was  no  syna- 
gogue. 

The  apostles  arrived  two  or  three  dnys  before 
the  Sabbath,  —  days  which,  we  may  presume, 
were  spent  to  good  purpose  in  making  the  ac- 
quaintance of  those  who  were  inclined  to  the 
worshipof  Jehovah.  When  the  Sabbath  morning 
came  they  went  to  the  place  or  house  "  where 
prayer  was  wont  to  be  made."  This  place  was 
outside  the  city-walls,  toward  the  west,  not  far 
from  the  Kirnatian  Rond.  nnd  on  the  l)ank  of  the 
Gangas.     If  Paul's  vision  at  Troas  of  "a  man  " 


186 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  52. 


'     I  ! 


/ 


calling  for  help ;  if  the  work  of  the  four  mis- 
sionaries during  the  days  before  the  Sabbath 
had  led  them  to  expect  a  congregation  of  men, 
they  must  have  been  disappointed,  for  they 
found  women  only.  Women  only  !  But  where, 
since  Christ  was  born,  have  not  w^men  been 
readiest  to  receive  the  Gospel  and  most  zealous 
that  others  should  be  blessed  by  its  message  ? 
There  are  men  in  our  day  who  cannot  quite  un- 
derstand that  a  woman  is  in  every  way  as  im- 
portant a  factor  in  the  cause  of  truth  as  am.'. 
Paul,  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  understood 
this  thoroughly.  It  was  with  no  fainthearted- 
ness, on  account  of  the  supposed  insignificance 
of  the  occasion,  that  he  spoke  the  word  of  life 
that  day.  There  was  one,  at  least,  and  possibly 
more,  whose  names  are  not  mentioned,  who 
listened  to  catch  every  word  ;  for  she  wanted  to 
know  a  better  way  of  life.  Lydia  had  been  for 
some  years  in  Philippi,  engaged  in  the  business 
of  importing  purple  goods  from  Thyatira  for 
the  Philippian  market,  and  had  become  inde- 
pendently rich.  Her  heart  the  Lord  opened. 
She  accepted  the  salvation  offered  through  the 
death  of  Jesus,  and  sealed  her  profession  of 
faith  by  being  baptized.  Lydia's  "  household," 
too,  whether  servants  or  children,  ])elieved  with 
her  and  followed  her  example. 

And  then  we  are  presented  with  a  picture  of 


1 

\ 


X 


^T.  46.] 


UP  TO  PHILIPPI. 


187 


Christian  hospitality  in  that  remote  Macedonian 
city  which  shines  like  a  gem  of  purest  ray. 
These  men  of  God  had  ))rought  gi'eat  joy  to 
Lydia ;  and  it  would  be  only  an  additional 
pleasure  to  take  them  to  her  home  and  share 
it  with  them  as  long  as  they  remained  in  the 
city.  This  she  insisted  upon  doing,  until  the 
four  missionaries,  leaving  the  lodging-house 
where  they  had  found  such  meagre  accommoda- 
tions as  they  could  afford  to  pay  for,  accepted 
the  comforts  of  this  Christian  home.  So  the 
sun  shone  upon  the  commencement  of  the  mis- 
sion in  Europe,  and  comfort  and  joy  gladdened 
the  hearts  of  teachers  and  disciples.  But  it  is 
not  in  this  way  that  the  work  always  goes  on. 
The  true  soldier  is  not  surprised  when  sum- 
moned to  "  endure  hardness  "  ;  and  to  this  Paul 
was  soon  called. 

Among  the  evil  practices  of  the  old  days  was 
a  pretension,  on  the  part  of  certain  men,  that 
they  were  able  to  discover  the  divine  wishes 
and  intentions,  and  the  mysteries  of  the  future, 
which  were  a  scaled  ])()()k  to  ordinary  mortals. 
AVe  have  already  seen  one  such  pretender, —  Ely- 
mas  of  Cyprus.  Here  in  Philippi  some  men, 
two  or  more,  owned  a  maniac  girl,  — possessed 
with  an  evil  spirit,  —  whose  wild  ravings  they 
palmed  off  upon  the  credulous  people  for  the 
utterances  of  Apollo  ;  and  the  people  gladly  paid 


0: 


188 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  62. 


:        ' 


I        ■     ' 


for  the  imposition.  One  cltiy,  as  the  apostles 
were  going  along  the  street  to  the  place  of 
prayer  and  worshi}),  this  girl  met  them,  and 
turning  a])out  followed  them,  and  with  frantic 
gestures  screamed  after  them  :  "  These  men  are 
the  servants  of  the  Most  High  God,  who  shew 
unto  you  the  way  of  salvation."  Day  after  day, 
as  they  passed  by,  she  repeated  this  exhibition. 
It  was  very  much  the  same  as  that  which  oc- 
curred on  several  occasions  in  the  presence  of 
Jesus.  "  Unclean  spirits,  when  they  saw  him, 
fell  down  before  him  and  cried,  saying :  Thou 
art  the  son  of  God.^ "  And  at  length  Paul  did 
for  her  that  which  our  Lord  had  done  for  many 
similarly  afflicted.  It  troubled  him  sorely, —  not, 
we  may  believe,  on  his  own  account,  but  for 
her  sake,  that  she  should  be  in  such  a  debased 
condition.  The  word  was  put  into  his  mouth ; 
and  the  authority  to  speak  it  was  thrust  upon 
him,  as  he  turned  and  said  to  the  frantic  spirit 
that  possessed  the  girl :  "  I  command  thee,  in 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  come  out  of  her." 
The  ravings  ceased.  She  came  to  herself.  But 
when  the  evil  spirit  came  out  of  this  slave  her 
owners'  hope  of  gain  came  out  too.  Their 
purses  were  touched  and  their  fury  was  let 
loose.  As  soon  as  they  heard  of  the  event, 
therefore,  they  violently  seized  Paul  and  Silas 

1  Mark  iii.  11 ;  Matt.  viii.  29 ;  Luke  iv.  41 ;  viii.  28. 


\ 


iET.  46.] 


UP   TO   PHILIPPI. 


189 


and  dragged  them  before  the  magistrates  in  the 
market-place  or  forum.  It  was  a  new  excite- 
ment for  the  ordinarily  quiet  city ;  and  it  did 
not  take  long  for  a  crowd  to  gather  of  those 
who  were  most  likel}^  to  be  in  sympathy  with 
the  owners  of  the  exorcised  slave.  The  charge 
brought  against  them  was  i?i  three  counts : 
they  were  Jews,  they  were  making  trouble  in 
the  city,  they  were  teaching  unlawful  religious 
rites.  To  these  charges  the  crowd  unanim- 
ously agreed  ;  and  the  pusillanimous  magistrates, 
carried  away  by  the  shout  of  the  multitude, 
without  giving  the  apostles  an  opportunity  to 
defend  themselves,  ordered  the  li(!tors  to  scourge 
them.  See  the  two  holy  men,  hurried  into  the 
open  Agora  amid  the  hisses  of  the  mob,  their 
hands  tied  to  a  post,  and  their  clothes  torn  from 
them  until  their  backs  are  bared  !  See  the  lie- 
tors  loosening  their  fasces,  testing  the  tough  elm- 
rods,  and  then  laying  on  the  sharp,  whistling 
blows,  till  the  quivering  flesh  is  lifted  in  ridges, 
and  the  blood  runs  !  But  this  cruei  indignity  is 
not  enough  to  satisfy  these  men  for  the  loss  of 
their  infatuated,  gain-producing  slave.  Near  at 
hand  is  a  frowning  prison,  in  the  most  safely- 
guarded  ward  of  which  is  an  inner  prison,  where 
lie  the  stocks.  Away  to  the  inner  prison  with 
these  disturbers  of  the  pagan  peace  of  our  city  I 


190 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  52. 


.••   .  1 


t      ! 


Wedge  their  feet  fast  in  the  stocks  !  Double- 
bolt  the  prison-door ! 

Such  treiitment  was  not  only  unjust  and 
cruel ;  it  was  unlawful ,  for  Paul  and  Silas  were 
no  ordinary  wandering  Jews.  They  were  both 
Roman  citizens.  This  fact  the  magistrates  may 
not  have  known  ;  and  it  would  have  been  almost 
impossible  for  Paul  or  Silas  (who  at  this  time 
at  least  probal)ly  could  not  speak  Latin)  to 
make  them  understand,  in  the  hi  ste  and  con- 
fusion of  the  arrest  and  condemnation,  that  they 
possessed  equal  rights  with  the  magistrates 
themselves. 

Midnight  has  settled  in  upon  the  city.  Mount 
Pangceus  towers  over  it,  black  and  portentous. 
There  is  silence  in  the  market-place  and  every 
street.  The  injudicious  magistrates,  the  hard- 
hearted lictors,  the  shouting  mob,  are  all  asleep. 
Silence  reigns  around  the  grim  old  prison.  The 
guards  are  drowsy,  the  jailer  is  sleeping.  But 
there  are  two  men  in  Philippi  this  midnight 
awake.  The  soft  echoes  of  trustful,  pleading 
prayer  arc  heard  from  "the  inner  prison," 
followed  by  two  manly  voices  in  unison,  sing- 
ing praises  to  God  "  for  his  goodness  and  for 
his  wonderful  works  to  the  children  of  men." 
It  was  a  new  sound  within  those  walls.  Curses 
and  groans  and  threats  had  often  made  the 
nights  there  terrible,  and  disturbed  those  who 


^T.  46.] 


UP  TO    PHILIPPI. 


101 


would  sleep ;  but  "  that  hymn,  falling  and 
swelling,  with  its  strange  mnsic  and  foreign 
words," '  produced  an  impression  upon  the 
listening  prisoners  such  as  they  had  never 
experienced  before.  From  cell  to  cell,  and 
through  every  corridor,  the  song  of  praise  is 
floating,  when  "  suddenly  "  there  comes  crashing 
under  and  through  the  ground  a  roaring  earth- 
quake, shaking  the  foundations  of  the  prison, 
and  loosening  the  prisoner's  chains  "from  the 
staples  in  the  wall."'^  The  song  ceases.  The 
prayer  is  answered.  The  arrest,  the  scourging, 
the  few  hours  in  prison,  the  prayer,  the  song, 
the  earthquake,  are  so  many  stages  in  the 
progress  of  the  Gospel  to  greater  conquests. 
See!  "The  jailer,  roused  out  of  sleep,  and 
seeing  the  prison-doors  open,  drew  his  sword 
and  was  about  to  kill  himself,  supposing  that 
the  prisoners  had  escaped.  But  Paul  cried  out 
with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  Do  thyself  no  harm  : 
for  we  are  all  here.  And  he  called  for  lights, 
and  sprang  in.  and,  trembling  for  fear,  fell 
down  before  Paul  and  Silas,  and  brought  them 
out,  and  said.  Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved? 
And  they  said,  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
thou  shalt  be  saved,  thou  and  thy  house.  And 
they  spoke  the  word  of  the  Lord  unto  him,  with 


i 


1  Eadie:  "Paul  the  Preacher,"  158. 

2  Farrar :  "  St.  Paul,"  i.  499. 


>ii; 


••STti^ 


iif 

if 


!       tl 


■  n 

i 


f 


192 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  52. 


iill  that  were  in  liis  house.  And  he  took  theui 
the  same  hour  of  the  night,  and  washed  their 
stripes ;  and  was  baptized,  he  and  nil  his,  im- 
mediately. And  he  l)rought  them  up  into  his 
house  and  ot  food  before  them,  and  rejoiced 
greatly,  with  all  his  house,  having  l)clievod  in 
God."i 

In  this  way  the  remainder  of  that  sleepless 
night  was  passed.  When  morning  dawned 
there  came  a  message  to  the  jailer  from  the 
magistrates,  ordering  the  release  of  the  pris- 
oners. With  an  o^erflowina-  heart  the  <rlad  new 
convert  carried  the  word  in  to  Paul :  "  The 
magistrates  have  sent  to  let  you  go."  But  it 
was  unwelcome.  "Sent  to  let  us  go?"  said  Paul. 
"No,  no, — that  is  not  the  way  in  which  men 
should  be  treated  who  possess  the  rights  of 
Roman  citizenship,  as  we  do.  Tell  them  that  we 
are  Romans  ;  that  they  have  publicly  scourged  us 
without  legal  condemnation  or  trial ;  that  we  have 
been  thrown  into  prison  contrary  to  the  Roman 
law.  Tell  them  that,  if  they  desire  to  escape  the 
disgrace  that  will  follow  them  by  our  appealing 
to  the  emperor,  or  to  the  proconsul  at  Thes- 
salonica,  they  will  do  well  to  come  here  them- 
selves." This  reply  startled  the  magistrates. 
They  had  abused  the  occasion,  partly  intention- 
ally and  partly  through  ignorance  of  what  these 

1  Acts  vri.  27-34. 


Ml.  46.] 


UP  TO  niiLirpi. 


193 


men  were.  "They  were  liable  to  an  action  for 
damages,  or  might  ])e  criminally  indicted,  and 
it'  convicted  would  become  infamous  and  in- 
capable of  again  serving  in  the  magistracy."^ 
Very  humbly,  therefore,  they  came  down  to  the 
prison,  apologized  to  the  apostles,  and  besought 
them  to  go  (juietly  out  of  the  city.  But  even 
this  the  ai)()stles  were  not  ready  to  do.  Leaving 
the  prison  they  went  back  to  Lydia's,  and  once 
more  before  their  departure  saw  and  spoke  with 
those  who  had  become  the  followers  of  the 
Lord  Jesus. 

1  Lewin,  i.  221. 


it 


I 


V. 


Ml! 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ON  TO    ATTICA. 

"  The  Apostle  while  al  Thcssalonica  was  at  one  and  the  same 
time  the  Christian  advocate  and  the  indusci-ious  artisan." — Lewin. 

'*  The  mountains  look  on  Marathon, 
And  Marathon  looks  on  the  sea ; 
And  musing  there  an  hour  alone, 
I  dreamed  that  Greece  might  still  be  free." 

Byron. 

rpHESSALONICA  is  seen  to  best  advantage 
-*-  from  the  har])oi'.  It  lies  upon  the  slope  of 
a  hill,  the  foot  of  which  sinks  into  the  blue 
waters  at  the  northern  extremity  of  the  Ther- 
maic  Gulf.  The  city  is  surrounded  by  "serried 
battlements  and  projecting  towers,"  which  climb 
the  limestone  hills  on  either  side,  and  stand 
along  their  crest  behind  it  in  grim  guardianship. 
Inside  this  uneven  circuit  of  walls,  on  the  heights 
above,  stands  the  fortress.  On  the  circle  of  the 
Gulf  project  the  busy  docks ;  while  between 
the  fortress  and  the  docks  warehouses  and  resi- 
dences are  huddled  together  picturesquely, 
though  not  conveniently ;  among  which  appear 
clumps  of  foliage,  and  in  some  places  the  gray, 
194 


;Rt.  46.] 


ON   TO    ATTICA. 


UK) 


hiird  faces  of  the  limestone  rock.  "The  travel- 
ler who  approaches  it  by  sea  on  a  summer 
morning  might  think  he  was  coming  to  one  of 
those  cities  of  enchantment  which  he  had  read 
of  in  Eastern  romances."  ' 

The  population  of  Thessalonica  was  composed 
in  the  main  of  two  classes,  manufacturers  and 
mariners.  The  looms  of  Greece  were  at  the 
head  of  the  Tlicrmaic  Gulf.  The  working 
flassos  of  the  city  knew  how  to  card  and  spin 
and  weave.  Agriculture  received  but  little  atten- 
tion. The  valleys  of  the  Axius,  Haliacmon,  and 
the  Strymon  allbrdcd  pasturage  for  herds  of 
sheep  and  goats >  whose  fleeces  kept  thousands 
of  hands  busy,  and  in  the  markets  of  the 
world  brought  ready  money  to  the  Thessalo- 
nian  weavers.  Manufacture  involved  traffic, 
ant'  accordingly  the  harlK)r  of  Thessalonica  was 
alive  with  vessels  from  numy  ports  coming  in 
and  going  out,  and  the  streets  near  the  wharves 
were  frequented  by  sailors,  and  lined  w'tli  ship- 
ping offices  and  warehouses.  These  two  classes 
gave  the  city  its  character.  There  was  no  pre- 
dominantly wealthy  aristocracy  of  retired  mer- 
chants as  at  Corinth  ;  none  of  the  pride  of  learn-  L ' 
ing  which  characterized  Athens.  The  people 
were  "industrious  handicraftsmen,"  thoughtful, 
accessible,  and  not  so  much  in  love  with  the 


Davies  ;  "  St.  Paul  in  lireece,"  p.  122. 


I 


I 


196 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  52. 


present  world  that  they  could  not  think  ear- 
nestly of  a  better.  Besides,  there  were  many 
Jews  in  Thessaloniea.  We  found  few  at  Phil- 
ippi ;  but  in  this  city  they  are  at  least  strong 
enough  to  maintain  a  synagogue,  —  the  syna- 
gogue, p  bably,  for  all  the  surrounding  coun- 
try. Although  the  Jews  were  frequently  the 
bitterest  opponents  that  the  apostles  had  to  con- 
tend against,  yet  thoir  religious  faith  was  so 
far  in  advance  of  heathenism  that  the  fact  of 
there  being  confiderable  numbers  of  them  in  any 
heathen  city  must  have  been  a  help  in  intro- 
ducing the  Gospel  there.  Some  of  these  Jews 
were  waiting  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise 
that  a  Messiah  should  come.  Their  preaching, 
or  synagogue  exhortation,  was  colored  with  the 
hope  of  a  coming  One,  and  had  prepared  the 
minds  of  the  people  to  give  attention  to  Paul 
preaching  that  He  had  come. 

Bidding  farewell  to  those  whose  "  fellowship 
in  the  Gospel "  ^  had  been  of  so  much  comfort 
in  the  Jays  of  afiliction,  Paul  and  Silas  and 
Timothy  left  Philippi.  Luke  remained  behind. 
Following  still  the  Egnatian  Road,  the}'  came,  at 
the  evening  of  the  first  day,  over  a  distance  of 
thirty-three  miles,  to  Amphipolis.  Tarrying  only 
for  necessary  rest  they  pushed  on  the  next  day 
thirty  miles  farther  to  Apollonia ;  and  the  day 

iPhil.  i.5. 


t 


-^r.  46.] 


ON   TO    ATTICA. 


197 


following,  lifter  making  forty  good  miles,  they 
came  in  the  deepening  twilight  to  Tliessiilonicu, 
and,  inquiring  the  way  to  Jason's  house,  found 
a  cordial  welcome  and  a  temporary  home. 

These  missionaries  were  without  money  ;  but 
they  preferred  to  be  independent.  Their  tirst 
object,  then,  was  to  find  employment  by  which 
to  support  themselves.  Paul  was  as  much  at 
home  among  the  weavers  and  the  tent-makers 
of  Thessalonica  as  in  the  company  of  the  learned 
Areopagites  of  Athens.  Accordingly,  in  all 
probability,  he  went  to  work  at  the  trade  which 
he  learnt  when  a  boy  in  Tarsus,  and  so  labored, 
sitting  at  "  the  creaking*  and  straining  loom " 
during  the  hours  of  the  day  when  he  could  not 
be  preaching,  and  late  into  the  night.  lie  re- 
minded the  Thessalonians  of  this  in  the  first 
letter  ^  he  wrote  them  after  his  departure,  as  a 
proof  of  the  ardor  of  his  zeal  for  their  conver- 
sion. We  should  remember,  too,  in  this  connec- 
tion, that  those  aflfcctionato  discii)los  in  Philippi 
did  not  forget  the  man  who  had  led  them  to 
Christ.  With  tearful  ej'es  they  had  seen  him 
go  away  sore  and  sick  from  the  cruel  treatment 
he  had  received  at  the  hands  of  the  Roman  mag- 
istrates ;  and  they  were  not  slow  to  send  after 
him  the  aid  which  delicacy,  perhaps,  would  not 
permit  them  to  urge  uj)on  him  while  with  them. 


i  1  Thcs.  i.  9. 


1 1 


198 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  52. 


I'    ! 


^: 


"  In  Thessalonica  ye  sent  once  and  again  unto 
my  necessity,"  ' 

For  three  Sabbaths,  at  least,  Paul  preached  in 
the  synagogue  of  the  Jews  at  Thessalonica. 
We  may  suppose  that  the  place  was  crowded ; 
that  not  only  Jews,  but  proselytes  of  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  and  others  who  were 
curious  to  hear  what  might  be  said,  came 
together.  But  Paul  directed  his  words  to  the 
people  of  his  own  nation,  and,  using  their 
scriptures,  Sabbath  after  Sabbath,  by  reasoning 
and  appeal,  endeavored  to  show  them  that  the 
Christ  of  the  Prophets  must  suffer ;  that  he  must 
rise  from  the  dead,  and  that,  therefore,  Jesus 
whom  he  preached  must  be  the  Christ.  The 
argument  was  unanswerable.  "  Some  "  of  the 
Jews,  "a  great  multitude"  of  the  Gentiles,  and 
"  not  a  few  "  of  the  leading  women  believed  the 
word  preached,  and  declared  themselves  on  the 
side  of  Paul  as  followers  of  Jesus  the  Christ. 
But  there  were  many  Jews,  who,  "slow  of  heart 
to  believe  all  that  the  Prophets  had  spoken,"  ^ 
rejected  the  testimony  of  Paul.  Besides,  they 
were  envious  that  he  should  have  secured  so 
large  a  following.  Their  jealousy  led  them  to 
adopt  desperate  and  contemptible  means  for 
retaliation.  They  had  lost  their  hold  upon  the 
Greeks   and  the  leading  women,  and  in  their 


1  Phil.  iv.  16. 


2  Luke  xxiv.  25. 


\ 


JET.  46.] 


ON   TO    ATTICA. 


199 


madness  they  determined  to  make  use  of  the 
mob.  There  were  plenty  of  lazy  loafers  in  the 
city  who  lived  by  dirty  work,  whom  money 
could  hire  to  do  anything.  Even  a  Jew  would 
scatter  his  gold  to  protect  his  fanatic  taith.  So 
they  drew  to  them  "the  scum  that  gathered 
about  the  shallowest  outmost  waves  of  civili- 
zation," "  roughs  and  scoundrels,"  ^  and  raised  a 
mob.  Every  idler  in  the  city  was  in  the  crowd 
that,  surging  and  shouting,  pushed  down  the 
street  to  Jason's  house,  burst  open  the  door, 
scattered  the  frightened  servants,  and  swarmed 
through  every  court  and  hall  and  chimber, 
looking  for  Paul,  Silas,  and  Timothy.  But 
these  men  were  not  to  be  found.  Jason 
himself,  however,  was  there,  and  some  friends 
of  his  who  had  recently  become  Christians. 
Not  being  able  to  secure  its  prey,  the  mob 
seized  Jason  and  the  brethren  who  were  with 
him,  and  dragged  them  away  to  the  magistrates. 
The  charge  preferred  against  these  citizens  of 
Thessalonica  liy  their  fellow-citizens  was,  that 
they  were  guilty  of  complicity  with  certain 
seditious  disturbers  of  the  public  peace,  who 
had  already  made  great  disturbance  in  other 
places,  and  had  come  here  for  a  similar  pur- 
pose. Jason  had  received  them  into  his  house, 
and  had  invited  his  friends  to  meet  them  there, 

1  Fanar :  *'  St.  Paul,"  i.  513. 


■II 


200 


LIFE    OF    PAUL. 


[A.D.  52. 


V 


and  to  listen  to  such  revolutionary  speeches 
as  this  :  "There  is  another  king,  —  one  Jesus." 
What  a  desperate  character  this  Jason  must 
have  been,  and  how  dangerous  these  others  who 
associated  with  him  I  The  magistrates,  how- 
ever, do  not  seem  to  have  been  deeply  impressed 
with  these  charges  against  Jason.  They  re- 
quired only  that  he  and  his  friends  give  secur- 
ity, after  which  they  let  them  go. 

That  night  Paul  and  Silas  left  Thessalonica. 
They  had  already  accomplished  the  purpose 
they  had  in  coming  to  this  city.  A  strong 
body  of  believers  had  been  gathered,  and  one 
of  the  most  promising  of  the  Apostolic  churches 
had  been  organized.  In  his  first  letter  to  them, 
written  within  two  or  three  months  from  the 
time  he  left  the  city,  Paul  speaks  of  them  in 
the  highest  terms  of  commendation  :  "  Ye  ^veve 
ensamples  to  all  that  l^elicve  in  Macedonia  and 
Achaia.  For  from  you  sounded  out  the  word 
of  the  Lord,  not  only  in  Macedonia  and  Achaia, 
but  also  in  every  place  your  faith  to  Godward 
is  spread  a1)road."  *  With  joy,  therefore,  at 
the  success  of  their  mission,  the  apostles 
accepted  the  proposal  of  Jason  and  his  friends, 
and  turned  their  faces  inland  toward  the  town 
of  Berea,  situated  fifty  miles  west  of  Thessalon- 
ica, on  the  eastern  sloi)e  of  that  famous  range 

1  1  Thes.  i.  7. 


1^:  ' 


^T.  46.] 


ON   TO    ATTICA. 


201 


of  mountains  which   is    crowned  by  Olympus, 
the  home  of  the  twelve  great  gods  of  Greece. 

It  is  remarkable  that  in  this  mountain-town, 
under  the  very  shadow  of  the  majestic  sanctuary 
of  Jupiter  and  his  peers,  people  should  be 
found  eager  to  search  the  word  of  God. 
"  These  were  more  noble  than  those  in  Thessa- 
lonica."  How  delightful  to  the  missionaries, 
after  their  experiences  at  Philippi  and  Thes- 
salonica,  to  meet  here  daily  these  true-hearted 
Bereans,  who  were  willing  to  search  the  Scrip- 
tures to  lind  out  the  truth  about  Jesus  !  What 
wonder  that  many  were  persuaded  and  believed  ? 
But  peace  did  not  last  long.  Those  Jews  at 
Thessalonica,  who  had  tried  without  success 
to  take  Paul,  heard  of  his  preaching  at 
Berea.  Very  soon  their  emissaries  are  in 
the  quiet  town,  working  secretly  to  prejudice 
the  people  against  the  preacher.  Again  the  air 
is  full  of  warning.  Paul  is  informed.  He 
must  leave  the  peaceful  companionship,  the 
choice  fellowship  of  those  who  love  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  go  away  to  a  strange  people.  Leav- 
ing Timothy  and  Silas,  but  accompained  by 
friends  from  Berca,  he  hurries  directly  to  the 
sea-coast,  probably  to  the  port  Dium.  There 
they  find  a  ship  bound  to  Athens. 

Farewell,  Macedonia!     Farewell,  Olympus, 
crowned   with   snow  and   ice,  home   of  gods  ! 


I 


II-'. 


f 


202 


LIFE   OF  PAUL. 


[A.D.  46. 


Farewell,  beloved  fellow-disciples  in  Philippi 
and  Thessalonica  and  Berea !  Farewell,  ye 
who  seek  the  poor  life  of  this  chief  of  sinners  ! — 
who  yet  lives,  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  tell  of  his 
Saviour's  love. 


i: 


t 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


IN    TEMTLED    ATHENS. 


"  And  trust  mc,  while  I  tuni'il  the  page, 
And  track'cl  you  still  on  classic  ground, 
I  grew  in  gladness  til!  I  found 
My  spirits  in  the  golden  age."  —  Tennyson. 

"  There  were  more  statues  in  Athens  than  in  all  the  rest  of 
Greece  put  together." — Pausanias. 

*'  Wherefore  God  also  gave  them  up  to  uncleanuess."  —  Bom. 
i.  24. 

SOUTHERN  Greece  had  two  great  cities, 
'^  Athens  and  Corinth,  —  one,  the  intellectual, 
the  other,  the  commercial  centre.  They  were 
about  fifty  miles  apart,  separated  ])y  the  Saronic 
bay.  With  the  tirst  of  these  cities  Paul  had 
little  to  do  ;  with  the  other,  very  much. 

If  Paul  left  Macedonia  by  ship,  as  in  all  prob- 
ability he  did,  he  nmst  have  spent  three  or  four 
days  on  the  ^l^gean  sea,  skirting  the  eastern 
shores  of  Greece.  The  first  day  he  would  lose 
sight  of  Mount  Olympus,  pass  Ossa  and  Pe- 
lion ;  then  on  by  the  long  island  Euboea,  and 
into  the  archipelago,  where,  turning  toward 
the  west,  he  would  soon  see  the  temple  of 
Athena   perched    on   the   Sunian   promontory, 

203 


/ 


1 


i; 


V« 


I 


204 


tiFfi  Oi'  PAtJt. 


[A.I>.  52. 


the  modern  Cape  Colonna.  After  beating 
around  Cape  Sunium,  the  Apostle  was  upon 
the  far-famed  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  ^gina, 
while  around  him  lay  those  shores  so  rich  in 
classic  art  and  story. 

In  a  few  hours  the  ship  had  run  in  past 
-^gina  and  Salamis,  and  dropped  her  anchor 
in  the  harbor  or  made  fast  to  the  dock  at  Pi- 
raeus, the  principal  port  of  Athens. 

We  will  understand  Paul  all  the  better  if  we 
stop  here  in  port  Piraeus,  for  a  brief  glance  at 
the  province  and  the  city  which  he  is  about  to 
enter. 

In  all  the  world  there  is  not  another  spot  so 
remarkable  as  the  little  province  of  Attica.  For 
hundreds  of  years  before  Paul's  time,  Greece 
had  held  the  highest  position  among  the  nations, 
and  Attica  had  always  been  the  throne  and 
crown  of  Greece.  If  we  attempt  to  discover 
the  reasons  for  this  extraordinary  distinction,  we 
may  not  be  entirely  satisfied.  The  country  in 
itself,  certainly,  would  not  be  considered  favor- 
able to  the  development  of  a  mighty  people ; 
unless,  indeed,  it  be  granted  that  natural  obsta- 
cles are  conducive  to  such  development.  Attica 
was,  as  it  is  still,  a  broken  ridge  of  limestone, 
thinly  covered  with  a  sterile  soil.  Mountains, 
hills,  and  gorges  were  everywhere.  There  were 
but  few  spots  available  for  cultivation,  —  neither 


-^ 


1 


iEx.  40.] 


IN   TEMPLED    ATHENS. 


205 


'4  k 


forests  nor  vincyartls  nor  grjiin-fields  nor  pas- 
tures. In  such  a  barren  country  as  tliis  a  [)eo- 
ple  sprung  up,  whose  vitality  leaped  out  along 
every  possiI)le  avenue  oi'  activity  until  il  touched 
all  people  and  all  times.' 

The  children  of  the  mountains  are  always 
brave  and  enterprising.  The  very  barrenness  of 
their  country  pushed  the  natives  of  Attica  out 
after  the  spoils  of  other  lands,  while  it  oflered 
little  inducement  to  inunigrants  or  migratory 
plunderers.  jNloreover,  these  people  were  born 
patriots.  When  they  became  rich  they  i)referred 
still  to  reside  in  their  own  native  hills  and 
walled  cities;  and  when,  after  many  years,  the 
triremes  of  Greece  sailed  in  all  the  navigable 
seas,  and  her  phalanxes  marched  through  all 
countries,  and  encamped  around  the  gates  of  the 
most  powerful  cities,  and  her  statesmen  sat  as 
kings  on  all  the  golden  thrones,  still  Attica  was 

1  "  There  is  no  re<rion  of  the  civilized  world  which  is  not  breathed 
on  by  the  air  of  Attica.  Its  influence  makes  itself  felt  in  the 
thoughts,  and  shows  itself  in  the  speech  of  men ;  and  it  will  never 
cease  to  do  so:  it  is  not  enough  to  say  that  ii  lives  in  the  inspira- 
tions of  the  Poet,  in  the  eloquence  of  the  Orator,  and  in  the  specu- 
lations of  the  Philosopher.  It  exhibits  itself  everywhere  invisible 
shapes;  it  animates  the  most  beautiful  creations  of  Art.  The  works 
of  the  Architect  and  of  the  Scnli)t(>r,  in  every  (piarter  of  the  globe, 
speak  of  Athens  ;  even  our  manufactures  are  imprinted  with  her 
ornaments;  the  galleries  of  Princes  and  States,  the  temples  and 
palaces,  the  libraries  and  council-rooms  of  capital  cities  pay  homage 
to  Athens,  and  will  do  so  for  ever."—  Woudsavorth  :  "  Greece," 
p.  132. 


A 


f 


■V 


iii 


I 


206 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  52. 


their  fatherland,  and  they  considered  all  their 
conquests  as  tributaries  to  her.  So  Attica  be- 
came the  world's  heart. 

Standing  at  Piraeus  with  Paul,  with  our  faces 
toward  the  northeast,  we  look  awav  five  miles 
to  the  capital  of  Attica,  Athens,  — 

"The  Eye  of  Greece,  mother  of  ai*t3 
And  eloquence." 

The  most  conspicuous  object  in  the  city,  and 
one  upon  which  Pau^s  eye  must  have  rested,  as 
he  sailed  up  the  bay,  was  the  Acropolis.  The 
flat,  oblong  rock  which  constituted  the  Acropo- 
lis was  about  three  hundred  feet  high.  On  this 
height  stood  that  supcrbest  specimen  of  archi- 
tecture, the  Parthenon,  or  the  temple  of  the 
Virgin  Goddess,  Minerva,  the  Erechtheum,  and 
the  colossal  Statue  of  Minerva,  made  of  bronze 
by  the  great  master,  Phidias.  This  was  seventy 
feet  in  height,  armed  with  a  long  lance  and  an 
oval  shield,  and  wearing  a  helmet,  all  of  which 
flashed  so  brightly  in  the  sunlight  as  to  be  visi- 
ble many  miles  at  sea. 

A  little  to  the  west  of  the  Acropolis  stood  the 
Hill  of  Mars,  or  the  Areopagus.  It  was  an 
abrupt,  rugged  rock,  rising  steeply  on  the  south- 
ern side,  and  sloping  gradually  toward  the  north. 
On  this  hill  sat  the  venerable  and  sacred  Court 
of  the  Areopagus,  whose  province  was  to  legis- 
late upon  all  religious  questions ,  to  confer  relig- 


\ 


1 


At.  46.1 


IN    TKMI'LKI)    ATIIKNS. 


20; 


s 


ious  honors  upon  heroes,  and  to  weigh  and 
decide  upon  the  claims  of  the  gods.  Steps, 
cut  in  the  limestone  rock,  provided  a  way  of 
ascent  from  the  Agora,  or  "market,"*  to  the 
Areopagus.  In  that  Agora  were  shops,  tem- 
ples, statues,  arches,  porches,  colonnades.  It 
was  the  resort  of  the  busy  and  the  idle,  phi- 
losophers and  gossips.  Two  schools  of  philoso- 
phers especially —  the  Stoics,  disciples  of  Zeno, 
and  the  Epicureans,  followers  of  P][)icurus  — 
had  their  principal  places  of  meeting  in  the 
Agora. 

Leaving  now  the  Piroeus  with  Paul,  we  start 
for  the  city  at  which  we  have  been  looking. 
There  is  a  straight  avenue  the  entire  distance, 
on  either  side  of  which  lie  the  ruins  of  the 
"  Long  Walls  "  that  fori  lerly  made  this  t^  thor- 
oughly-guarded and  safe  transit  from  the  port 
to  the  city,  or  rather  m-ide  it  virtuall^^  an  elon- 
gated extension  of  the  city.  Through  this  Paul 
walked  to  the  Pirseic  Gate. 

In  the  streets  of  Athens  nothing  would  attract 
the  eye  of  a  stranger  so  much  as  the  magnificent 
temples  and  the  myriads  of  statues.  The  latter 
especially  would  be  likely  to  impress  a  Jew 
brought  up  in  Jerusalem,  where  the  existence 
of  a  statue  would  have  been  a  direct  violation 
of  the  Law.     In  Athens,  on  the  contrary,  the 

1  Acts  xi.  17. 


208 


LIFE    OF    TAIL. 


tA.l>.  B'J. 


hiw  required  that  stiitues  of  the  gods  should 
jidorn  the  public  s(|uare.s  and  streets  as  well  as 
the  inner  sanctuaries  of  the  temples.  There 
were  more  than  three  thousand  of  these  beauti- 
ful marble  figures,  made  by  the  best  artists  of 
Greece,  and  dedicated  to  gods,  goddesses,  demi- 
gods, and  heroes.  Some  of  the  streets  must 
have  been  galleries  of  statuary,  finer  indeed 
than  any  modern  galleries.  But  all  this  beauty 
and  artistic  skill  had  been  perverted  to  bad 
uses.  The  statues  were  not  only  dedicated  to 
the  gods,  but  they  represented  them.  Devout 
Athenians  prayed  before  them,  made  vows  to 
them,  and  brought  them  gifts  of  gold,  silver, 
flowers,  and  fruits.  All  this  idolatry  was  de- 
l)asing  to  the  people.  The  statues  of  Athens, 
beautiful  though  they  were,  were  the  means  of 
her  religious  and  moral  degradation. 

We  might  well  wonder,  therefore,  whether 
Paul,  the  moralist,  the  reformer,  the  man  who 
was  giving  his  whole  life  to  making  Jesus  known 
as  the  only  One  who  had  revealed  and  represent- 
ed the  true  God,  would  not  turn  with  grief  and 
pain  from  the  lifeless  statues  of  innocent  white 
marble  which  the  foolish  Greeks  worshipped  as 
devoutly  as  he  worshipped  Christ.  We  might 
wonder,  if  we  did  not  read  that  "his  spirit  was 
stirred  within  him  "  by  the  sight.  Along  those 
magnificent  avenues  lined  with  beautifully-fash- 


\ 


iET.  46.1 


tN   TEMPLED   ATHENS. 


209 


\ 


ioned  l;ut  morally  ruinous  deities,  in  and  out 
among  the  gay  and  chatty  men  and  women 
who  lived  in  this  proud  eit}',  and  who  si)ent 
much  of  their  time  in  the  clear  and  pleasant 
outdoor  air.  passed  the  sober  and  earnest  Chris- 
tian Jew.  From  their  heights  the  snowy  Parthe- 
non and  Erechtheum  and  the  statue  of  Minerva 
looked  scornfully  upon  him.  The  brave  man, 
though,  was  not  silenced  l)y  the  magnificence  of 
this  heathenism.  At  once  he  sought  a  syna- 
gogue, —  for  there  were  Jews  in  Athens  as  in 
every  other  city.  These  were  his  countrymen. 
They  would  recognize  him  as  a  son  of  A])raham. 
To  them  first,  therefore,  he  brought  the  word 
of  salvation  through  Jesus  the  Christ. 

But  Paul  could  do  more  than  preach  to  Jews. 
There  were  congregations  in  the  synagogue  only 
occasionally,  —  probably  not  oftener  than  once 
a  week.  It  was  the  custom  in  Athens,  though, 
for  those  who  had  anything  to  say  to  the  peo- 
ple to  go  to  the  Market-place,  or  Agora.  This, 
as  we  have  noticed,  was  the  resort  of  the  best 
classes,  the  most  thoughtful  portion  of  the 
population.  It  ^vas  the  great  "  exchange  "  for 
news  and  opinions.  It  was  at  the  same  time  a 
busy,  noisy  market.  Here  were  the  shop- 
keepers' booths,  the  stands  loaded  with  fruit 
and  flowers  and  honey  ;  there  the  auction-block, 
where  there  was  a  slave-auction  every  day ;  at 


>  ij 


*  I 


\ 


\ 


210 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  52. 


other  places,  shelves  s[)r(':i(l  with  purchnienls ; 
at  still  others,  the  tables  of  the  money-ehangcrs. 

To  the  men  lounoinir  and  stroUin";  in  the  Acora 
the  philosopliers  were  accustomed  to  address 
themselv^es,  to  tell  their  latest  conclusions,  and 
to  display  their  ingenious  rhetoric.  People  and 
philosophers  "  spent  their  time  in  nothing  else 
but  either  to  tell  or  to  hear  some  new  thing." 
Paul  availed  liimsoU'  of  the  opportunity  which 
the  custom  of  the  city  ollered,  and  spoke  in 
the  Agora.  He  attracted  attention.  From  a 
half  dozen  his  audience  grew.  The  shopkeep- 
ers came ;  the  impatient  customers  stopped  to 
see  and  hear,  the  slaves  stood  up  and  strained 
their  ears  to  catch  the  words  of  the  distant 
speaker ;  the  Epicureans  and  the  Stoics  even 
condescended  to  approach  the  crowd  and  listen 
to  the  swift,  eager  words  of  the  apostolic  evan- 
gelist. If  Paul  was  familiar  with  Athenian 
philosophy  and  theology,  he  did  not  care  to 
display  his  knowledge  of  those  su])jects ;  but 
preferred  rather  to  hold  himself  exclusively  to 
preaching  Jesus  and  the  resurrection. 

Every  day  Paul  kept  on  preaching  to  the 
people  in  the  Agora.  No  doubt  the  common 
people  listened  with  great  comfort  to  the  new 
hopes  he  held  before  their  imagination.  How 
dreary  the  future  must  have  looked  t^  them, 
with  such  poverty  of  hope  as  their  own  relig- 


' 


: 


^T.  40.] 


IN    TEMPLED    ATHENS. 


211 


. 


' 


ion  aflbrded  !  But  the  philosophers,  who  were 
accustomed  to  receive  the  devout  admiration 
of  the  i)eople,  could  not  have  hcen  pleased  to 
see  a  foreigner  receiving  popular  attention. 
Some  of  them  were  curious  to  hear  a  delinite 
statement  from  him  Ci)ncernini2:  the  new  God 
he  declared,  while  some  others  were  disposed  to 
ridicule  him  as  a  foolish,  hare-brained  fanatic.   - 

From  the  Agora  a  flight  of  steps,  cut  in  the 
rock,  led  up  to  the  Areoi)!igus.  Up  these  Paul 
was  taken,  whether  by  invitation  ^  or  by  force, ^ 
is  not  altogether  clear.  No  doubt  there  were  some 
serious  men  in  Athens,  v;ho  would  welcome  new 
truth  if  thev  could  be  certain  that  it  was  truth. 
But  most  of  those  who  led  or  followed  Paul  from 
the  Agora  to  the  open  court  of  the  Areopagites 
were  too  deeply  settled  in  the  mud  of  their  own 
superstitions ;  their  worldly  interests  were  too 
much  involved  in  their  philosophic  positions ; 
their  patriotism  was  too  closely  allied  to  the 
worship  of  their  gods,  for  them  to  think  other- 
wise than  curiously  or  scofhngly  of  a  preacher 
of  new  and  foveiirn  doctrines. 

Paul,  however,  was  ready  to  preach  Christ  to 
the  philosophers  of  Athens.  But  what  a  con- 
ffreffation  !  How  (nft'erent  from  those  in  wicked 
Antioch  of  Svria,  or  those  in  Galatia,  or  in 


1  Conybearo  and  Ilowson  :  "  St.  Paul,"  i.  374. 

2  Farrar:  "  at.  Paul,"  1.539. 


212 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  52. 


Philippi,  or  in  Berea  or  Thessalonica.  The  men 
who  listened  hereon  tlic  Areopagus  assumed  to 
be  judges.  They  would  have  laughed  to  scorn 
the  man  who  had  intimated  that  they  needed  a 
Saviour.  Such  a  cono^reijation  will  alwavs  be 
the  severest  test  of  the  preacher's  al)ility  and 
heart.  They  did  not  wait  for  Paul  to  speak, 
but,  inquisitor-like,  put  a  plain  and  direct  ques- 
tion, "  May  we  know  what  this  new  teaching  is, 
which  is  spoken  by  thee?  For  thou  bringest 
certain  foreign  things  to  our  ears ;  we  would 
knov7,  therefore,  what  these  things  mean."  The 
position  is  very  significant.  One  lonely  man, 
with  a  new  and  incredible  Gospel,  stands  in  a 
city  famous  for  its  wisdom  and  wealth,  among 
the  cleverest  representatives  of  its  most  sacred 
religious  faith,  in  the  presence  of  its  grandest 
temples  and  marble  gods,  to  give  a  reason  of 
the  hope  that  is  in  him.^  Strange,  indeed,  that 
those  temples  should  become  mere  ruins,  and 
that  the  whole  religious  fabric  of  Greece  should 
have  so  entirely  passed  away,  while  the  religion 
which  Paul  preached,  at  once  became  the  con- 
trolling force  in  history,  shaping  the  fortunes 
of  nations  and  turning  the  world  upside  down. 
Paul's  reply  to  the  assembled  sages  of  Athens 
was  wise  and  strong,  beginning  with  a  well- 
known  object  that  he  had  seen  while  passing 

1  1  Peter  iii.  15. 


u 


,  *^^w 


u 


I   ' 


I 


!     I 


?MI' 


i'' 


JET.  46.] 


IN   TEMPLED   ATHENS. 


215 


through  the  city,  and  leading  right   on  to  the 
theme  of  all  his  preaching  : — 

"Men  of  Athens:  Everything  which  I  see  bears 
witness  to  your  very  great  zeal  for  religion.  For  as  I 
passed  along  the  street  yonder  and  observe  the  ob- 
jects of  your  worship,  I  perceived  one  altar  with  this 
inscription :  '  To  the  Unknown  God.'  This  One,  tliere- 
fore,  whom  you  worship,  though  you  do  not  know  Ilim, 
I  make  known  to  you.  The  God  who  made  the  world 
and  all  that  is  in  it,  since  he  is  Lord  of  Heaven  and  earth, 
does  not  dwell  in  temples  made  with  hands.  Neither  is 
he  served  by  the  hands  of  men,  as  though  he  needed  any- 
thing ;  for  he  himself  gives  to  all  men  life  and  breath, 
and  all  things.  He  also  made  of  one  blood  all  the  na- 
tions of  mankind  to  dwell  upon  all  the  face  of  the  earth, 
having  determined  their  appointed  seasons  and  the 
bounds  of  their  habitation,  that  they  should  seek  God,  if 
possibly  they  might  feel  after  Him,  and  find  Him,  though 
He  is  not  far  from  each  one  of  us;  for  in  Him  we  live, 
and  move,  and  have  our  being ;  as  certain  also  of  your 
own  poets  have  said :  — 

** '  For  we  are  also  His  offspring.' 

"  Being,  then,  ourselves  the  offspring  of  God,  we  ought 
not  to  think  that  the  Godhead  is  like  gold  or  silver  or 
stone,  shaped  by  the  art  and  skill  of  man.  The  times 
of  ignorance,  however,  God  overlooked;  but  noAV  He 
commands  all  men  everywhere  to  repent,  inasmuch  as 
He  has  appointed  a  day  in  which  He  will  .judge  the 
world  in  righteousness,  by  the  Man  whom  He  has  or- 
dained, whereof  He  has  given  assurance  unto  all,  in  that 
He  has  raised  Him  from  the  dead."  ' 

The  preacher  was  suddenly  intermpted. 
That  one  word,  ''resurrection"  was  hostile  to 

1  Acts  xvii.  22-31. 


216 


LIFE    OF   TAUL. 


[A.D.  62. 


the  worldly-hearted  Athenians.  They  would 
not  think  of  anv  other  world  than  this.  Some 
of  them  hurst  out  laufjhinff  at  Paul  for  mention- 
ing  such  a  thing  in  their  presence  ;  while  others 
said,  "  Some  other  time,  Stranger ;  some  other 
time,  but  not  now,  we  will  hear  you  again." 

That  was  the  close  of  Paul's  work  among  the 
Athenians.  He  left  them  then,  havmg  been  in 
Athens  probably  three  or  four  weeks.  Not  much 
had  been  accomplished  —  at  least,  to  the  human 
view.  One  of  the  Areopagite  judges  believed, 
and  a  woman  whose  name  was  Damaris,  and  also 
a  few  others.  But  the  Apostle  left  no  church 
in  that  city.  His  thoughts  do  not  seem  to  have 
gone  back  very  often  to  the  disciples  there. 
He  never  visited  them  again,  nor,  so  far  as  we 
know,  ever  even  addressed  a  letter  to  them. 


,'^ 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


TWO  YEARS  AT  CORINTH. 


"  Not  every  man  can  go  to  Corinth."—  Old  Proverb. 

" Paul  depai*ted  from  Athens,  and  came  to  Corinth."  —  Acts 
xviii.  1. 


V 


'T^HE  next  city  which  Paul  visited  played  an 
-*■  important  part  in  his  great  life-work.  On 
this  first  visit  to  Corinth,  he  spent  nearly  two 
years  there.  From  there  the  two  letters  to  the 
Thessaloniuns  were  >yritten  at  this  time.  Two 
letters  also  were  sent  to  Corinth  a  few  years 
afterwards,  —  one  from  Ephesus,  the  other  from 
some  point  in  Macedonia.  Five  years  later  we 
will  find  the  Apostle  back  in  Corinth  again. 

Corinth  was  the  capital  city  of  the  province  of 
Achaia,  which,  under  the  Romans,  included  the 
whole  of  Southern  Greece.  The  character  of 
this  city  was  very  different  from  that  of  Athens. 
Athens  was  the  repository  of  the  culture  of 
Greece, — the  quiet  home  of  her  learning,  the 
school  of  her  philosophy,  and  the  temple  of  her 
religion  and  of  her  arods.  Corinth  was  the  resi- 
dence   of    tlie   Roman    court,  —  the   proconsul 

217 


. 


I 


: 


218 


LIFE   OF   PAUL 


[A.D.  53. 


or  governor,  and  his  {ittondant  legions.  Here 
was  the  home  of  wealth  and  fashion,  the  mart 
of  commerce,  and  the  resort  of  ga3'ety.  Athens 
was  aristocratic ;  Corinth  democratic.  Athens, 
was  wise  —  at  least  in  her  own  conceit ;  — r 
Corinth  was  filled  with  folly.  Athens  was  cold 
and  reserved ;  Corinth  was  social  and  passionate. 

At  the  present  day  the  site  of  ancient  Corinth 
is  occupied  by  a  small  and  insignificant  village, 
composed  of  forty  or  fifty  wretched  hovels. 
Scarcely  a  vestige  remains  of  the  glory  of  that 
city  which  in  Paul's  day  was  the  centre  of 
beauty,  brilliance,  and  sin  of  the  Roman 
province  of  Achaia.  Seven  fluted  columns 
still  stand  erect,  the  remains  of  a  temple  that 
once  adorned  the  city.  Several  miles  to  the  east 
may  be  seen  the  remnants  of  the  Stadium,  or 
Race-course,  "  the  shell  of  a  theatre,"  and  the 
rock-hewn  seats  of  an  ancient  amphitheatre.^ 
These  are  the  most  significant  memorials  of 
Corinth's  former  grandeur. 

In  this  year,  A.D.  53,  Corinth  was  moving 
on  in  her  career  of  magnificence.  She  had 
entirely  recovered  from  the  destruction  with 
which  she  had  been  visited  by  the  conquest. 
Her  position  between  the  two  seas,  with  the 
port  of  Cenchrea  inviting  the  traffic  of  the 
East,  and  the  port   of  Lechoeum  open  to  the 

1  Wordsworth,  "  Greece,"  p.  447. 


. 


^T.  47.] 


TWO   YEARS   AT   CORINTH. 


219 


commerce  of  the  West,  gave  her  great  natural 
advantages.  These  advantages  her  citizens 
were  not  slow  to  use  for  the  prosperity  of  the 
city.  She  became  the  most  prosperous  nnd  the 
wealthiest  city  of  Greece.  Wealth  blossomed 
into  grand  nvoiiuos  and  :*ine  buildings.  Corinth 
was  beautiful.  Corinthian  architecture  was  the 
most  finished  and  tasteful  that  the  world  had 
seen.  The  religious  element,  however,  was  not 
prominent  among  the  Corinthians.  Indeed,  the 
growth  of  irreligion  and  immorality  kept  pace 
with  the  increase  of  riches.  The  very  temples 
were  little  more  to  the  people  than  club-houses, 
where  vices  were  deified.  There  was  a  large 
foreign  population  in  Corinth.^  The  city  stood 
in  the  highway  of  travel.  Men  with  money, 
and  women  with  vanity  and  ambition,  thronged 
the  streets,  and  met  in  the  luxurious  palaces. 
The  rich  set  the  fashion  for  the  poor.  Sailors, 
slaves,  and  the  so-called  priestesses,  with  the  in- 
termingling of  all  classes,  constituted  a  population 
as  bad,  if  possible,  as  that  which  rolled  under 
the  frowning  battlements  of  the  Syrian  Antioch. 
Lucius  Junius  Annasus  Gallio  was  sent  out 

1  "  The  multitude  of  sailors  drawn  together  by  the  two  ports  had 
made  Corinth  the  last  sanctuary  of  Venus  Pandemos,  —  a  remnant  of 
the  ancient  Phoenician  establishments.  The  great  temple  of  Venus 
contained  more  than  a  thousand  sacred  courtesans.  The  entire 
city  was  like  a  vast  evil  resort,  where  numerous  strangers,  above 
all  sailors,  went  to  spend  their  fortunes  foolishly."— Renan  :  "  Life 
of  Paul,"  p.  146. 


i  i 


220 


LIFE   OF   PAUL, 


[A.D.  B3. 


from  Rome  as  proconsul  of  Achaia  while  Paul 
was  at  Corinth.  He  was  a  man  of  remarka])le 
placidity  of  disposition,  —  a  gentleman  with  all 
the  dignity  and  cultivation  that  result  from 
good  education  and  choice  companionship,  and 
with  that  fine  sense  of  justice  combined  with 
firmness  which  was  so  strikingly  characteristic 
of  the  older  Romans. 

When  Paul  arrived  at  Corinth  he  was  alone, 
as  he  had  been  most  of  the  time  while  at  Athens. 
When  he  left  Troas,  Luke,  Silas,  and  Timothy 
accompanied  him.  Luke  was  left  behind  at 
Philippi,  Timothy  at  Thessalonica,  Silas  at 
Berea.  Timothy,  indeed,  in  obedience  to  Paul's 
urgent  request  sent  back  from  Athens,  had 
hastened  to  meet  Paul  there  ;  but  his  represen- 
tation of  the  condition  of  things  in  the  church 
at  Thessalonica  ^  was  such  as  to  persuade  Paul 
to  deny  himself  the  consolation  of  this  be- 
loved brother's  company,  and  to  send  him 
back  to  establish  and  comfort  the  little  church 
he  had  left. 

But  there  were  new  friends  for  the  lonely 
Apostle  in  this  great  city.  There  was  a  man 
and  his  wife,  natives  of  Pontus  up  by  the  Eux- 
ine,  who,  being  Jews,  had  been  expelled  from 
Rome  by  a  recent  edict  of  the  emperor,  and  had 
sought  Corinth,  because  it  was  a  good  place  to 

1  1  Thes.  iii.  1-2. 


- 


Mt.  47.] 


TWO   YEARS   AT   CORINTH. 


221 


carry  on  their  business ;  for  they  were  tent- 
makers  ;  and  because  there  were  already  a  great 
many  of  their  countrymen  in  this  city.  Paul, 
too,  was  a  tent-maker ;  and  we  may  ])e  sure  that, 
finding  himself  in  such  a  city  as  Corinth,  and 
desiring  with  all  his  heart  to  recommend  the 
Gospel  to  the  people,  his  first  aim  would  be  to 
make  himself  independent  by  the  labor  of  his 
own  hands.  He  was  looking  for  work  at  his 
trade,  perhaps,  when  he  fell  in  with  Aquila, 
and  found  employment  in  his  shop.  Priscilla, 
too, — 

"  Spinnings  and  spinning, 
Never  idle  a  moment,  but  thrifty  and  thoughtful  of  others," 

who  worked  at  the  same  trade  with  her  husband, 
welcomed  the  preacher-tentmaker  to  her  home 
and  table.  This  became  one  of  the  sacred 
places  that  Paul  called  home,  like  the  house  of 
Lydia  at  Philippi.  It  could  not  have  been  long 
after  their  first  acquaintance  with  Paul  before 
both  of  these  excellent  people,  Aquila  and  Pris- 
cilla,  were  converted  to  Christ,  and  became 
"  helpers  in  Christ  Jesus."  ^ 

Six  days  of  the  week  Paul  worked  in  the  shop ; 
but  on  the  Sabbath  he  went  with  the  breth- 
ren of  his  own  nation  to  the  synagogue,  where 
Jehovah  was  worshipped,  and  where  the  people 
knew  at  least  the  name  of  Messiah.      Every 

1  Rom.  xvi.  3. 


222 


LIFE   OF    PAUL. 


[A.D.  03. 


Sabbath,  as  opportunity  was  given,  Paul  spoke 
to  the  congreijation.  Unquestionably  his  mes- 
sage was  concerning  Him  wiio  had  already  come 
as  Messiah, — Jesus.  But  it  did  not  ring  out 
with  the  accustomed  apostolic  clearness  ;  for  the 
Apostle  was  weary  and  lonely  and  disheartened, 
on  account  of  his  experience  at  Athens,  and  by 
the  absence  of  the  brethren.  Not  numy  weeks, 
however,  passed  before  Silas  and  Timothy  re- 
joined Paul  at  Corinth ;  and  that  was  a  happy 
reunion. 

Timothy  had  come  directly  from  Thessalonica, 
where  he  had  been  acting  as  pastor  of  the  church. 
Paul  would  have  many  questions  to  ask  about 
the  Christians  there,  whom  he  had  been  com- 
pelled to  leave  so  soon  after  their  conversion. 
It  was  a  good  report,  on  the  whole,  that  Timo- 
thy had  to  make  of  the  church ;  though  there 
were  some  things  in  it  which  made  the  Apostle 
wish  that  he  could  be  back  in  Thessalonica  for 
a  few  days,  to  gather  the  church  around  him, 
and,  as  they  had  done  at  Berea,  search  the 
Scripture  together.  A  return  to  Thessalonica, 
however,  at  this  juncture  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. But  Paul  was  not  entirely  prevented  from 
warning  and  encouraging  and  instructing  the 
disciples.  Since  he  could  not  go  to  them,  he 
would  write  them  a  letter.  This  was  the  occa- 
sion of  his  writing  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Thes- 


■  *  » 


\ 


Mr.  47.] 


TWO    YEARH    AT    COKINTH. 


223 


j»    » 


salonia >!.'<.     The  Second  Epistle  to  the  T/iesau- 
Ionian^  followed  soon  afterward. 

But  these  Kpisties,  though  they  have  exerted 
so  great  an  inlluence  since  Paul's  day,  and  in 
our  own  time  are  read  with  so  much  profit,  were 
only  incidental  to  the  work  which  he  was  in 
Corinth  to  accomplish.  He  was  there  to  preach 
Christ  crucified  to  her  citizens.  Encouraged 
by  the  presence  of  Timothy  and  Silas,  and 
relieved  from  his  daily  work  ))y  a  contribution 
sent  for  his  sui)port  by  the  churches  of  ]\Iace- 
donia  ^  Paul  could  give  himself  more  entirely  to 
the  work  of  preaching.  Up  to  this  time  he  had 
si)oken  only  on  the  Sabbath  and  in  the  syna- 
gogue. Now  he  can  preach  wherever  he  finds 
listeners,  and  every  day  of  the  week.  He  also 
spoke  more  positively  than  before.  Before  he 
reasoned  and  argued.  Now  he  affirmed  and 
declared.  He  no  longer  apologized  for  Jesus, 
but  asserted  that  he  was  the  Christ.  The  Jews 
bore  with  him  w^hile  he  reasoned  merely.  In- 
deed, they  very  likely  enjoyed  that  dialectic 
exercise  ;  but,  when  he  opened  ihe  floodgates  of 
his  heart  and  bore  teslinionv  to  what  he  knew 
about  Jesus,  and  witliout  qualification  declared 
that  this  very  same  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  the 
Messiah-king  foretold  by  the  Prophets,  the 
Jews  became  very  angry,  and  strenuously  op- 

1  2  Cor.  xi.d. 


224 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  6S. 


posed  him.  When  Paul  saw  that  the  same  old 
obstinacy  that  had  appeared  in  the  Jews  wher- 
ever he  came  in  contact  with  them  was  stronsr 
and  bitter  in  them  here  also,  he  withdrew  from 
them. 

But  the  burning  words  that  he  had  already 
spoken  had  kindled  fires  in  many  hearts.  Jews 
and  Greeks  were  interested  and  convinced. 
"  Many  of  the  Corinthians  hearing,  believed,  and 
were  baptized."'  Of  those  who  believed, 
Epsenetuswas  the  first.^  Crispus,  also,  chief  of 
/  the  Jews,  and  Ruler  of  their  synagogue,  with  his 
entire  family,  became  Christians.  This  is  the 
first  whole  family  of  Jews  the  conversion  of 
which  is  reported.^  There  must  have  been  a 
high  excitement  in  Corinth,  especially  among 
the  Jewish  popuhition,  when  Crispus  with  his 
wife  and  children  went  over  to  the  Christian 
church.-  There  were  two  other  significant  con- 
versions about  this  time, —  those  of  Gains  and 
St?phanas.  Crispus  and  Gains  Paul  himself 
baptized,'*  contrary  to  his  usual  custom ;  for 
Paul  (possibly  on  ac  ount  of  some  infirmity) 
rarely  baptized.^  Paul  also  baptized  the  family 
of  Stephanas,  and  some  others,  whose  names  are 
not  mentioned.     There  was  at  least  one  man  of 


m 


1  Acta  xvi"i.  8.  *  Rom.  xvi.  6. 

8  Baumgarten,  "  Apostolic  History,"  ii.  :214. 
4  1  Cor.  i.  14.  6  Ibid.  i.  17. 


jEt.  47.] 


TWO   TEARS    AT   CORINTH. 


225 


1: 


» 


1 


some  financial  ability  among  those  converted, 
namely  Justus.  His  house  was  beside  the  syna- 
gogue where  Paul  had  preached;  and,  when  the 
rupture  occurred  l)et\veen  Paul  and  the  Jews, 
this  was  the  man  who  opened  his  doors  and  in- 
vited the  Christians  to  hold  their  public  meet- 
ings in  his  house.  It  is  probable  that  Paul  con- 
tinued to  preach  in  that  house  as  long  as  he 
staj^ed  in  Corinth,  while  he  made  his  home  with 
Aquila  and  Priscilla. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  a  great  work  ;  but, 
lest  the  servant  should  not  appreciate  the  extent 
of  the  Master's  purposes  here,  the  Master  spoke 
to  the  apostle  one  night  in  a  vision  :  "  Be  not 
afraid,  but  speak,  and  hold  not  thy  peace  ;  for  I 
am  with  thee,  and  no  man  shall  attack  thee  to 
harm  thee,  for  I  have  much  people  in  this  city." 
So  encouraged  nnd  commanded,  Paul  kept  right 
on  for  a  year  and  a  half,  until  he  had  gathered 
the  people  and  laid  the  foundations  for  a  strong 
Christian  church. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  new  proconsul, 
"  the  sweet  Gallio,"  came  to  Corinth.  The  hatred 
of  the  Jews  against  the  Gospel  which  Paul 
preached,  and  their  envy  at  the  steadily  increas- 
ing number  of  its  adherents,  grew  so  strong  and 
fierce  that  they  at  length  determined  to  take 
steps  towards  silencing  him  altogether.  They 
presumed   upon    the   inexperience   and    good- 


226 


LIFE   OF  PAUL. 


[A.D.  53. 


nature  of  Gallic  so  far  as  to  imagine  that  he 
would  give  a  favorable  hearing  to  a  complaint 
preferred  by  so  large  a  body  of  citizens  as  they 
were.  Therefore,  soon  after  tlTfe  proconsul's 
arrival,  the  Jewish  citizens  of  Corinth,  led  by 
Sosthenes,  the  Ruler  of  the  synagogue  since  the 
conversion  of  Crispus,  brought  Paul  before  Gal- 
lio  with  the  charge,  "  This  man  persuades  the  peo- 
ple to  worship  God  contrary  to  the  Law."  But 
Gallio  was  not  deceived ;  for,  while  the  Roman 
government  allowed  freedom  of  worship  to  the 
Jews,  it  did  not  require  its  represcn  stives  to 
settle  disputes  among  the  Jews  themselves. 
The  proconsul,  therefore,  was  only  just  in  re- 
fusing to  have  anything  to  do  with  this  accu- 
sation.^ 

Paul  was  about  to  speak  in  self-defence,  but 
Gallio  prevented  him  and  made  short  work  of 
the  case,  —  "I  will  not  be  judge  of  such  mat- 
ters ; "  and  so,  having  given  the  Jews  the  final 
word,  because  they  persisted  in  clamoring  in  the 
court-room,  he  forcibly  drove  them  out. 

1  "  Gallio  acted  with  firmness  and  with  justice.  He  at  u:.v  j 
perceived  the  frivolity  of  the  charge ;  did  not  even  call  upon  ibc 
apostle  for  hl:^  defence  ;  but  stating  decidedly  that  he  was  set  there 
to  be  administrator  of  Roman  law,  and  to  preserve  public  order, 
and  not  to  be  an  interpreter  of  Jewish  laws,  he  contemptuously 
dismissed  the  charge.  Ke  has,  by  a  singular  misinterpretation  of 
the  sense  of  the  whole  incident,  been  held  up  as  a  type  of  an  '  in- 
different Christian.'  What  he  really  seems  to  have  been  was  a 
just  and  impartial  heathen."  — Da  vies,  "St.  Paul  in  Greece," 
p.  173. 


. 


mt.  47.J 


TWO   YEARS   AT   CORINTH. 


227 


. 


A  crowd  of  sport-loving  Greeks  had  observed 
the  proceedings.  These  Greeks  despised  the 
Jew,  both  because  he  was  miserly  and  because 
he  was  virtuous  ;  and  they  were  always  ready  to 
ridicule  or  maltreat  him.  Encouraged  by  the 
forcible  ejectment  of  the  Jews  from  the  judg- 
ment-seat, the  Greeks  crowded  around  Sosthe- 
nes,  the  leader  and  head  of  the  Jewish  party, 
dragged  him  away  from  his  friends,  and  beat 
him.  Gallio  did  not  interfere.  Taking  into 
consideration  the  troublesomeness  of  the  Jewish 
population  in  Roman  communities,  it  may  not 
be  too  much  to  suppose  that  he  "  looked  through 
his  fingers  and  enjoyed  the  scene."  ^ 

All  this  was  helpful  to  the  Christian  cause  in 
Corinth.  The  Jews  were  defeated,  and  Paul 
found  himself  on  the  people's  side.  The  posi- 
tiveness  i  nd  boldness  of  his  convictions  won  for 
him  the  sympathy  of  the  Corinthians.  They 
saw  that  he  was  no  penurious  Jew.  They  must 
have  admired  the  man,  even  though  they  did 
not  all  believe  his  doctrine.  If  he  had  preached 
the  philosophy  of  Epicurus,  instead  of  forgive- 
ness of  sins  through  Christ  crucified,  half  of 
Corinth  would  have  been  at  his  feet.  The 
Apostle  continued  a  considerable  time — "3'et 
many  days" — after  the  encounter  with  the  Jews. 
It  is  probable  that  during  these  days  Sosthenes 


1  Hackett,  "  Commentary  on  Acts,"  xviii.  17. 


ii 


228 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  M. 


became  u  Christian.'  Maybe  the  beating  he 
received  for  leadins^  an  accusation  atjainst  Paul 
started  a  train  of  reflection  that  brou2:ht  him  to 
see  his  need  of  a  Saviour.  Maybe  Paul  Avent 
to  him  with  his  great  heart  of  brotherly  sympa- 
thy, and  by  that  sweet  pressure  coini)elled  him 
to  be  a  brother  with  him  in  Christ. 

But  the  time  came  for  Paul  to  bid  farewell  to 
the  beloved  friends  he  had  made  in  Corinth. 
He  turns  his  face  once  more  toward  Palestine, 
determined  to  go  to  Jerusalem.  We  see  him 
taking  leave  of  the  brethren,  and,  accompanied 
by  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  leaving  Corinth  for 
Cenchrea,  the  port,  where  they  iind  an  eastern- 
bound  vessel.  Before  eml)arkinir,  however,  an 
incident  is  mentioned  that  shows  how  Paul  re- 
mained a  devoted  Jew  after  he  became  a  thor- 
ough Christian.  It  had  been  for  fifteen  hundred 
years  the  custom  for  devout  Jews  on  special 
occasions,  such  as  recovering  from  severe  sick- 
Tiess  or  escaping  from  any  calamity  or  danger, 
to  take  upon  themselves  special  vows.  The 
law  concerning  vows  may  be  read  in  the  sixth 
chapter  of  Num])ers.  Abstinence  for  a  definite 
length  of  time  from  certain  luxuries  of  food, 

1  "As  Paul  was  himself  unable  to  write  his  own  letters,  and 
always  employed  a  scribe-,  it  is  more  than  likely  Sosthenes  penned 
that  Christian  epistle  [I  Cor.]  from  Ephesiis  to  his  old  iellow- 
citizens  of  Corintli !  "  —  Macduff  ;  "  Footsteps  of  St.  Paul,"  p.  241. 
See  also  1  Cor.  i.  1. 


^T.  48.] 


TWO    YEARS   AT   CORINTH. 


229 


\ 


allowing  the  hair  to  go  uncut  for  the  same  time, 
and  offering  special  sacrifices  at  the  Temple  in 
Jerusalem,  constituted  the  principal  features  of 
most  vows.  At  the  expiration  of  the  period 
covered  by  the  vow,  if  the  person  was  at  Jeru- 
salem, the  head  must  be  shaved  and  the  hair 
burned  upon  the  altar  with  the  peace-offering. 
If,  however,  the  person  Avas  not  able  to  reach 
the  sacred  city,  the  hair  might  be  cut  off  and 
preserved  until  such  time  as  the  devotee  reached 
the  Temple,  when  the  ceremony  should  be  com- 
pleted by  shaving  the  head,  burning  the  hair, 
and  offering  the  vowed  sacrifices.  It  appears 
likely,  that  while  at  Corinth,  for  some  reason, 
Paul  made  a  vow,  the  time  of  which  expired 
while  he  was  at  Cenchrea. 

The  journey  to  Palestine  bears  the  marks  of 
haste.  The  Apostle's  chief  olyect  is  to  be  at 
Jerusalem  to  observe  the  "  feast."  A  qui  la  and 
Priscilla,  and  perhaps  Timothy  and  Silas,'  em- 
bark with  him  at  Cenchrea.  ^^'^e  watch  their 
vessel  pushing  across  the  sunny  sea  among  the 
beautiful  islands  waving  with  forests,  and  rich 
in  legendary  and  mythological  lore,  by  Patmos 
and  Samos,  until  her  anchors  cleave  the  tide  in 
the  harbor  of  Ephesus.     Onl}'  a  ])rief  stop  here, 

1  *'Paul,  SiliH,  Timothy,  aiul  Titus  made  the  whole  voya;,'e 
from  Ephesus  to  Jiulca ;  i)ut  Aquila  and  rri^cilla,  haviii<4- no  call 
to  Jeni^ali'iu.  rcniaineil  at  Ephesus,  and  continued  there  until 
the  Apostle  joined  them  ayaiu."  —  Lewin,  i.  302. 


I  !■ 


f 


/ 


230 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  54. 


until  another  vessel  shoi  Id  sail  to  the  East. 
During  this  short,  forced  vis/t  Paul  is  in  the 
synagogue  a  '>n,  speaking  co  the  Jews.  But 
they  cannot  jXiSuade  him  to  remain  with  them. 
For  some  especial  reason  which  is  not  men- 
tioned, and  whi3h  we  cannot  surmise,  —  unless 
it  were  on  accouit  ol  his  vow,  —  Paul  must 
keep  the  approach"  ^g  feast  at  Jerusalem.  "But 
I  will  return  agai  unto  you,  if  God  will,"  was 
his  pnrting  word.  He  landed  at  Csesarea,  but 
making  no  delay,  hurried  immediately  up  to 
Jerusalem. 

This  is  the  fourth  time  Paul  has  been  in 
Jerusalem  since  his  conversion  :  Once  when  he 
came  back  from  Damascus ;  again,  when  he 
brought  a  contribution  to  the  poor  Christians 
from  the  generous  souls  in  Antioch  in  Syria ; 
and  once  when,  as  delegate  with  Barnabas  and 
others,  he  came  to  attend  the  council  in  which 
the  mutual  relations  and  privileges  of  Jewish 
and  Gentile  Christian^  were  determined.  But 
Jerusalem  had  never  a  warm  welcome  for  the 
Apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  James  and  his  people 
did  not  more  than  half  approve  of  his  work  in 
foreign  countries.  They  were  still  a  little  fear- 
ful that  the  Gospel  would  be  made  too  common. 
Paul  "salutes  the  church,"  but  there  is  no  wel- 
come to  him.     He  is  only  a  foreign  missionary  ! 

But  there  was  one  warm-hearted  city  where 


v.. 


mr.  48.] 


TWO   YEARS    AT   CORINTH. 


231 


the  brethren  would  be  very  glad  to  see  Paul. 
Straightway  he  went  to  Antioch,  where,  among 
those  who  had  first  heard  the  Gospel  from  his 
lips,  and  who  had  been,  under  his  persuasion, 
brought  to  Christ,  and  who  had  labored  and 
suffered  and  rejoiced  with  him,  he  spent  some 
time  in  the  peace  and  fellowship  of  the  Christian 
Church. 


\ 


T 


PART   FOURTH. 


$ltt  ^Txlvd  UMsslonavij  ^onxntv^. 


CHAPTER  XVIIl. 


EPHESUS  AND  APOLLOS. 

—  "  the  first  and  greatest  metropolis  of  Asia."  —  Inscription  in 
THE  Temple  of  Diana. 

"Remember,    therefore,    from    whence    thou    art    fallen."  — 
Rev.  ii.  5. 

f\^  the  last  clay  of  December,  1869,  the  buried 
^-^  ruins  of  the  great  templo  of  Diana  of  the 
Ephesians  were  discovered.  Mr.  J.  T.  Wood 
had  been  employed  for  nearly  seven  years 
exploring  the  site  of  the  ancient  city.  Step 
by  step  he  had  advanced,  until,  late  on  the 
day  mentioned,  a  workman  whom  he  had  set 
to  sink  a  trial-hole,  laid  bare  the  white  marble 
pavement  about  twenty  feet  below  the  surface. 
This,  one  of  the  most  interesting  discoveries 
of  modern  times,  was  due  entirely  to  the 
shrew^d  calculations  and  unflagging  determi- 
nation of  Mr.  Wood.^  It  corrected  all  former 
impressions  of  the  plan  of  Ephesus,  and  of 
the  location  of  the  temple. 

The  temple  of  Diana  stood  outside  the  city- 
walls,  at  a   distance   of  about   a   mile   and   a 

1  "Discoveries  at  Ephesus,"  especially  p.  155. 

235 


236 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  53. 


quarter  from  either  of  the  two  great  gates, 
the  Coressian  and  the  Magnesian.  The  site 
was  not  on  an  elevation ;  ])ut  in  an  open  plain 
of  low,  flat  ground,  lying  in  the  angle  where 
two  streams  almost  meet,  just  before  they  fall 
into  the  sluggish  Cayster.  Here  a  temple, 
probably  the  original  one,  was  erected  about 
B.C.  500.  This  building,  according  to  Mr. 
Wood's  account,'  must  have  been  either  de- 
stroyed, removed,  or  enlarged,  so  that  in  B.C. 
356,  a  second  temple  stood  over  the  same  spot. 
This  is  the  temple  with  which  the  name  of 
Herostratus,  "the  ambitious  youth  who  fired 
the  Ejihesian  dome,"  will  always  be  re- 
membered. After  that  wa  n  destruction, 
the  Ephesians  set  to  won.  eagerly  to  re- 
construct the  shrine  of  their  deity  on  a 
still  grander  scale.  The  work  was  rapidly 
pushed  to  completion.  "The  ladies  of  the 
city  sold  their  jewelry,  and  neighboring  cities 
sent  contributions,  many  of  the  massive  col- 
umns being  the  gift  of  kings."  No  finer  model 
of  Ionic  architecture  was  ever  erected.  It 
was  a  magnificent  structure.  The  white 
marble  platform  on  w^hich  it  stood  measures 
nearly  four  hundred  and  twenty  by  two 
hundred  and  forty  feet, — or  exactly  four 
hundred  and  eighteen  feet,  one  inch,  by  two 

"  Discoveries,"  p.  262-3. 


y 


Mr.  47.] 


EPHESU8   AND   APOLLOS. 


237 


[ 


1^ 


hundred  and  thirty-nine  feet,  four  and  a  half 
inches,  —  on  each  of  the  four  sides  of  which, 
extending  the  entire  length  and  breadth,  was 
a  fligiit  of  fourteen  steps.  One  hundred  Ionic 
columns,  six  feet  in  diameter,  and  fifty-tive  feet 
in  height,  stood  in  a  double  row  of  majestic 
beauty  around  the  temple  proper,  and  supported 
the  mammoth  and  magnificent  roof. 

The  interior  of  the  temple  was  very  fine. 
The  columns  were  decorated  with  the  exquisite 
work  of  the  finest  sculptors.  Rich  ornamen- 
tation hung  from  the  lofty  capitals.  Threads 
of  gold  formed  delicate  tracery  in  the  white 
marbl  .  Brilliant  colors  adorned  the  walls. 
Pavements  of  unrivalled  design  and  beauty 
were  spread  through  every  corridor,  hall, 
court,  chamber,  and  open  space.  Paintings 
and  sculpture,  by  the  best  artists,  were  brought 
in  profusion  to  the  walls  and  niches  of  this 
greatest  temple.  Jewels  and  treasure  of  al- 
most incredible  value  were  stored  in  the  coffers 
dedicated  to  the  great  goddess  Diana. 

And  what  was  this  Diana  of  the  Ephesians? 
Was  it  something  beautiful,  chaste,  elegant? 
If  we  had  been  admitted  into  the  gorgeous 
temple,  and  passed  on  from  one  stately  court 
to  another,  until  we  came  to  the  inner  sanctuary, 
which  was  held  most  sacred  by  the  Ephesians, 
and  then   had   been   allowed  to  lift  the   rich, 


M 
In, 


i 


238 


MFE    OF    PAUL. 


[A.D.  83. 


embroidered,  purple  curtain  which  screened 
from  vulgar  gaze  the  strange  goddess,  we 
would  have  been  almost  startled  by  the  hideous 
"  ugly  wooden  idol."  This  roughly-hewn  and 
disfigured  block,  with  the  head  and  breasts  of 
a  woman,  was  the  deity  of  Ephesus,  "  which 
fell  down  from  Jupiter,"  as  thc3  people  had  been 
told,  and  as  they  prol)ably  l)elieved.  No  one 
knows  where  the  image  came  from,  nor  when 
it  was  made.  Enouijh  that  it  was  there,  the 
central  object  in  one  of  the  most  wonderful 
fanes  the  sun  shone  on,  and  worshipped  by 
ipyriads  of  people. 

Around  the  temple,  enclosing  a  spa^je  of  a 
half-mile  in  diameter,  stretched  the  peribolus 
wall.  It  is  said  that  Mithridates  stood  on  a 
cornel  of  the  roof  of  the  temple  and  shot  an 
arrow ,  having  declared  beforehand  that  the  spot 
where  the  arrow  fell  would  mark  a  l)oundary, 
inside  which  should  be  "asylum."  No  mat- 
ter what  crime  a  person  had  committed,  in- 
side that  wall,  even  the  Justice  of  the  law  could 
not  touch  him.  Of  course  this  place  soon  be- 
came a  resort  of  all  the  worst  criminals,  until, 
under  the  very  shadow  of  the  shrine  of  the 
goddess,  lay  the  densest  and  darkest  criminal- 
ity.  This  became  so  bad  that  later  emperors 
limited  the  privileges  of  asylum,  until  the  peri- 
bolus wall  was  built  by  Augustus. 


JET.  47.] 


EPHESUS    AND   APOLLOS. 


239 


At  the  head  of  the  harbor  of  Ephesus,  and 
inside  the  city-walls,  though  a  mile  and  a  half 
or  more  from  the  Temple  of  Diana,  was  located 
the  immense  Theatre.  It  was  excavated  from 
the  side  of  Mount  Coressus,  and  was  the  largest 
structure  of  the  kind  erected  by  the  Greeks. 
The  ruins  have  been  uncovered  from  their  long 
burial,  and  circular  seats  are  disclosed,  capable 
of  seating  fifty  thousand  spectators.  This  is 
the  theatre  referred  to  in  Acts. 

If  we  could  look  into  the  life  of  ancient 
Ephesus,  we  would  find  it,  in  its  general  aspect, 
much  like  that  of  the  other  great  cities  we  have 
already  visited.  The  population  consisted  of 
Asiatics,  Greeks,  Romans,  and  Jews.  It  has 
already  been  noticed  ^  that  Ephesus  was  the 
western  terminus  of  the  great  Roman  highway 
which  connected  the  Eastern  countries  of  the 
empire  with  the  capital.  Her  port  was  one  of 
the  busiest  in  the  world,  and  the  stream  of 
commerce  which  was  incessantly  running  through 
the  city,  and  away  across  the  sea  to  other  ports, 
not  only  made  profitable  activity  for  many 
hands,  but  left  in  its  passage  the  customary 
deposit  of  wealth. 2 

Its  highest  ;\nd  most  famous  art  was  the  pro- 
duction of  shrines  and  images  of  Diana.  This  be- 
came an  important  branch  of  manufacture,  upon 


1  P.  141. 


2  Lewin,  pp.  319-324. 


I        I 


240 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  S3. 


which  M  large  number  of  artisans  were  depend- 
ent for  their  daily  bread.  Those  who  made 
the  greatest  pretensions  to  learning  were  sor- 
cerers and  miracle-workers,  of  whom  there  was 
an  unusually  large  proportion  in  the  population 
of  the  vast  metropolis. 

The  decline  of  this  ancient  city  from  its  for- 
mer glories  and  vanities  to  the  deserted  ruin 
that  now  lies  in  the  plain,  was  due  to  two 
causes.  The  first  cause,  undoubtedly,  was  the 
building  of  an  extensive  mole  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Cayster,  with  the  hope  of  improving  the 
harbor.  It  produced  the  oi)posite  result.  The 
currents  were  so  aftected  that  the  river  gradu- 
ally filled  up,  and  in  Paul's  time  it  was  scarcely 
possible  for  vessels  to  reach  the  city  at  all.  The 
consequent  interruption  of  commercial  traffic, 
of  course,  very  rapidly  drew  away  the  wealth 
and  population  of  the  city.  Moreover,  the 
checking  of  the  currents,  and  the  filling  of  the 
river-bottom  with  the  wash  from  the  upper 
country,  produced  marshes,  which  in  time  bred 
malaria.  Ephesus  soon  became  unhealthy. 
The  second  cause,  and  the  one  which  resulted  in 
her  complete  overthrow  was  the  sacking  of  the 
city  by  the  Goths  in  A.  D.  262.  These  Van- 
dals pillaged  and  burned  the  city,  and  killed  or 
enslaved  or  put  to  flight  the  inhabitants.  Ephe- 
sus has  been  nothing  since  then,  although  sev- 


^T.  47.] 


EPHESUS  AND  APOLLOS. 


241 


eral  attempts  have  been  made  to  restore  lier 
to  her  position  among  the  great  cities  of  the 
world.  Iler  grandeur  and  pride,  like  that  of 
Corinth  and  Antioch  and  other  cities  of  the 
Orient,  is  only  a  nitjlancholy  remembrance. 

Paul  will  soon  l)e  in  E[)hesus  again ;  but  be- 
fore he  comes  we  nuist  make  the  acquaintance 
of  another  Christian  teacher.  Since  our  Apos- 
tle's brief  visit  to  Ephesus,  one  has  come  to  the 
city  whose  name  is  soon  upon  the  lips  of  many. 
All  the  Jews  have  become  acquainted  with  him ; 
for  he  is  one  of  their  own  nationalitv,  and  he 
has  spoken  eloquently  and  clearly  in  their  syna- 
gogue. This  Jew,  Apollos,  had  recently  come 
from  Alexandria,  his  native  city,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Nile.  He  was  a  deeply  religious  man,  and 
thoroughly  devoted  to  the  ^work  of  spreading 
the  truest  and  highest  conceptions  of  religious 
life  that  he  knew.  The  schools  of  Alexandria, 
(which  was  one  of  the  most  famous  university- 
cities  of  the  world  at  that  time)  had  given  to 
Apollos,  while  yet  a  youth,  an  excellent  educa- 
tion. At  that  time,  too,  he  had  heard  of  the 
preaching  of  John  the  Baptist,  or  possibly  he 
may  have  been  up  to  Jerusalem  while  John  was 
preaching,  and  have  gone  out  with  the  crowds 
that  gathered  by  the  Jordan  to  hear  the  new 
Elijah.  Evidently  he  had  been  greatly  moved 
by  the  ideas  which  John  endeavored  to  impress 


^^^ 


i        ! 


I 


242 


LIFE    OF    PAUL. 


[A.D.  53 


upon  his  hearers,  —  that  the  people  must  repent, 
forsake  wrong-doing,  and  prepare  to  welcome 
the  Messiah,  who  was  to  come.  It  is  twenty 
years  or  more  since  »T()hn  p 'cached  the  coming 
of  Messiah,  and  during  that  time  Jesus  has 
come  and  preached  and  died,  has  risen  from  the 
grave,  and  ascended  to  heaven,  and  sent  the 
Holy  Spirit.  But  for  some  cause,  of  which  we 
are  ignorant,  Apollos  knew  only  what  John  had 
preached,  and  was  ignorant  of  what  Jesus  had 
done.  He  came  to  Ephesus,  therefore,  preaching 
only  what  John  had  said,  though  he  preached 
this  with  all  the  grand  eloquence  and  earnest- 
ness of  which  he  was  capable. 

We  have  seen  already  that  twc  disciples  of  the 
Lord,  Priscilla  and  her  husband,  Aquila,  who 
were  familiar  with  the  full  Gospel  story,  having 
been  associated  with  Paul  for  two  or  three  years 
at  Corinth,  came  to  Ephesus  with  Paul  on  his 
last  eastward  journey,  and  remained  in  that  city. 
This  devoted  couple  heard  Apollos  with  great 
pleasure.  They  were  enchanted  by  his  fervid 
zeal  and  brilliant  oratory.  At  the  same  time 
they  felt  that  there  was  a  great  lack  in  his  preach- 
ing. He  urged  repentance  and  good  works,  which 
was  excellent,  so  far  as  it  went ;  but  it  could  not 
do  the  Jews  at  Ephesus,  nor  any  other  people, 
much  good  to  be  told  of  their  sins,  unless  they 
were  also  told  of  a  Saviour  from  sin.     Such  a  per- 


^ 


Mt.  «.] 


EPHE8LS  AND  AP0LL08. 


243 


Bon  as  a  real  Saviour  they  had  never  thought  of. 
Priscilhi  and  A(|uihi,  though,  knew  that  tlie  »Jesus 
whom  the  Jews  had  crucified  was  tlie  very  Sa- 
viour they  all  needed.  So,  earnestly  desiring  to 
show  ApoUos  a  more  excellent  way,  not  only  for 
his  own  srke,  but  also  for  the  sake  of  those  who 
were  attracted  by  his  words,  and  seeing  that  he 
was  of  such  a  spirit  as  to  receive  what  they 
might  say  to  him,  and  to  give  it  due  consideration, 
this  devoted  Christian  wife  and  husband  took 
ApoUos  to  their  home,  and  explained  to  him  the 
word  of  God  in  tlie  light  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 
There  is  no  doubt  but  that  Apollos,  became,  in 
the  true  sense,  a  believer  in  Christ.  It  was 
perhaps  right  there  in  the  humble  lodgings  of 
Aquila  and  Priscilla,  where  their  work  of  goats' 
hair  and  tent  cloth  lay  about  on  the  floor,  that 
the  "eloquent"'  Apollos,  mighty  in  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  the  preacher  of  repentance  and  right- 
eousness, found  out  Him  who  was  mighty  and 
ready  to  save  all  who  would  put  their  trust  in 
Him. 

Soon  after  this  conference  with  Priscilla  and 
Aquila,  Apollos  decided  to  go  across  to  Greece, 
especially  to  Corinth  in  Achaia ;  and  that  he 
might  be  at  once  received  by  the  Christians 
there,  those  in  Ephesus  who  had  learned  to 
admire  him  so  much,  and  who  had  such  entire 

I  Acts  18 :  24 


i     i 


i 


244 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  83. 


coiiHdence  both  in  his  ability  and  good  spirit, 
gave  him  letters  of  introduction  to  the  church  at 
Corinth.  Arriving  in  tiiat  city,  from  Avhich 
some  months  before  Paul  had  departed,  ApoUos 
at  once  ffave  himself  to  the  work  of  encourasrinir 
and  teaching  the  disciples  who  had  been  left 
without  an  apostle  to  lead  them.  His  preaching 
was  with  great  power.  The  Jews  especially 
were  borne  down  by  its  persuasion.  He  "might- 
ily convinced"  them,  by  interpreting  the  very 
Scriptures  which  they  heard  every  day  in  their 
synagogues,  and  showing  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
was  the  Messiah  whom  the  Prophets  forelold. 

We  know  little  more  of  Apollos  than  this. 
From  1  Cor.  iii.  4-6,  it  seems  that  henmst  have 
remained  in  Corinth  long  enough,  at  least,  to 
attach  many  of  the  Corinthian  Christians  to  him. 
There  was  a  Paul  party  and  an  Apollos  party  in 
the  church  there.  That  Apollos  subsequently 
left  Corinth,  is  evident  from  the  last  chapter  of 
the  same  epistle  in  which  Paul,  writing  from 
Ephesus,  tells  the  Corinthians  that  Apollos  will 
come  to  them,  "  when  he  shall  have  convenient 
time."^  His  name  is  mentioned  once  more  in 
Titus  iii.  13,  and  that  is  all.  What  part  he 
took  in  the  establishing  and  developing  of  the 
early  Christian  churches  can  probably  never  be 
known. 

1  1  Cor.  xvi.  12. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

EPHESUS    AND    PAUL. 

*•  Paul  having  passed  through  the  upper  coasts,  came  to  Ephe- 
8U8."  —  Acts  xix.  1. 

"Now  by  St.  Paul  the  work  goes  bravely  on."  — Colley 
Gibber. 

TTrE  left  Paul  at  Antioch,  restin^j,  after  the 
^  "  severe  strain  of  his  last  missionary  jour- 
ney, with  the  beloved  friends  whom  in  former 
years  he  had  brought  to  Christ.  He  spent 
"  some  time "  in  this  city,  until  his  physical 
energies  having  been  restored,  the  old  consum- 
ing zeal  for  the  Master's  glory  would  permit  him 
to  remain  no  longer.  He  directed  his  steps  again 
towards  the  west  It  is  the  last  time  that  the 
disciples  at  Antiich  will  see  him.  He  never  re- 
turns again  after  this  to  the  scene  of  his  early 
and  wonderfully  successful  labors. 

"\  Whether  Paul  was  alone  or  not  when  he  left 
Antioch,  we  can  only  conjecture.  Farrar  says 
that  he  was  "  cheered  in  all  probability  by  the 
companionshipof  Timothy  and  Titus,  and  perhaps 
alsoof  Gaius,  Aristarchus, and  Erastus."  ^    How- 


'  "St.  Paul"  II.  6. 


245 


?!• 


il    I 


i!!l 


246 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  54. 


son  thinks  that  Titus  may  have  travelled  with 
Paul  and  Timothy  through  the  earlier  part  of  the 
journey. 1  Lewin  aflSrms  that  Paul  "  took  Titus 
with  him,  but  by  whom  else  he  was  accorapanied 
we  have  no  data  upon  which  to  form  even  a  con- 
jecture."^ And  Renan  agrees  with  this.  "He 
set  out  from  Antioch,  probably  accompanied  by 
Titus."  3 

The  journey  took  the  Apostle  through  his 
native  city,  Tarsus,  across  the  familiar  Taurus 
by  the  Cilician  Gates,  descending  from  which 
he  may  have  visited  Derbe  and  Lystra  and 
Iconium.  We  know  that  he  went  into  Galatia 
and  Phrygia  to  revisit  the  churches  which  were 
formed  there  three  years  ago,  and  which,  left 
without  a  leader,  had  not  kept  themselves 
entirely  free  from  heresy  of  doctrine  and  im- 
morality of  conduct.  The  visit  was  made 
rapidly,  however ;  for  Paul  was  eager  at 
last  to  be  among  the  seething  population  of 
Ephesus. 

It  was  a  long  and  wearisome  journey  that, 
all  the  way  from  the  Orontes  across  the  entire 
length  of  Asia  Minor,  six  hundred  miles  or 
more.  But  Paul  was  a  brave  man,  who  thought 
not  of  Yv^eariness  when  there  was  good  work  to 
be  done.  He  has  come  to  the  last  stage.  The 
road  has  left  the  high  and  bleak  table-lands,  and 


1  "  St.  Paul,"  II.  11. 


2 1.  310. 


8  ••  St.  Paul,"  204. 


\ 


^T.  48.] 


EPHESUS    AND   PAUL. 


247 


runs  down  the  vtilley  of  the  Lycus,  past  Co- 
lossai  and  Hierapolis  and  Laodicea,  where  Chris- 
tian churches  ah'eady  exist,  or  are  soon  formed, 
along  through  the  fertile  meadows  >»'atered  by 
the  Mceander,  until  it  reaches  Magnesia,  where 
it  turns  toward  the  northwest,  skirls  Mount 
Prion,  which  it  passes  on  the  eastern  spur,  and 
brings  the  traveller  out  into  full  view  of  the 
capital  of  Asia  Minor,  with  its  towering  gates 
and  battlemented  walls.  A  mile  and  more  to 
the  north,  gleams,  like  a  star  in  the  sunshine, 
the  white  marble  Temple  of  Diana.  Down 
there,  in  front  of  the  city,  bej^ond  its  avenues 
and  residences,  beyond  the  great  Stadium,  and 
the  fifty  thousand  rock-hewn  seats  of  the  Thea- 
tre, lies  the  artificial  harbor,  in  which,  a  mile 
away  from  the  sea,  are  huddled  the  masts  of 
ships  from  every  port  of  the  Mediterranean. 

The  first  incident  mentioned  in  connection 
with  Paul's  eventful  stay  of  three  years  in 
Ephesus  was  his  meeting  with  a  dozen  men  who 
seem  to  have  occupied  precisely  the  same  posi- 
tion in  regard  to  John  and  Jesus  that  Apollos 
had ;  that  is,  they  accepted  John's  teaching,  and 
expected  that  Messiah  was  soon  to  come.  It  is 
possible,  indeed,  that  they  may  have  taken  a 
step  farther  than  this,  and  hoped  that  Jesus, 
about  whom,  perhaps,  they  had  heard  in  gene- 
ral terms,  was  to  come  again,  then  to  appear 


248 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  55. 


I!-     I 


as  Messiah.  Certainly  they  knew  only  John's 
baptism ;  and,  as  for  the  promise  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  they  admitted  that  they  had  never  so 
much  as  heard  that  there  was  such  a  person. 
These  men  Paul  instructed,  and  they  were  bap- 
tized in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  received 
the  Holy  Ghost,  through  whom  was  given  to 
them  the  gifts  of  tongues  and  prophecy.' 

It  is  altogether  likely  that  Paul  lived  in  about 
the  same  manner  in  Ephesus  as  he  had  lived  in 
Corinth.  Aquila  and  Priscilla  were  here  ;  and 
it  is  only  fair  to  suppose  that  he  made  his  home 
with  them  again,  and  that  he  worked^  part  of 
the  time,  at  least,  making  tents.  On  the  Sab- 
bath he  went  with  the  faithful  Israelites  to  the 
synagogue,  and  addressed  the  congregation.  He 
was  bold  here,  as  he  always  was,  and  patient 
too  ;  for  he  had  confidence  that  the  seed  he  was 
sowing  would  in  due  time  bring  forth  fruit. 
For  three  months,  accordingly,  he  pursued  this 
method,  in  order  that  the  field  might  be  as  wide 
and  as  fertile  as  possible  among  the  people  of 


r  - 


*  "  And  thus  tliose  twelve  men,  who  came  forward  so  abruptly  in 
our  history,  disappear  as  suddenly,  leaving  us  in  doubt  whence 
they  came,  where  they  had  been,  and,  in  some  respects,  what  particu- 
lar phase  of  religious  l)olief  they  represented.  The  episode  is  one 
of  strange  interest  from  the  very  fact  of  its  suggesting  so  many 
questions,  the  solution  of  which  our  imperfect  knowledge  of  the 
first  Christian  age  has  put  beyond  our  reach."  —  HACi^TT :  "  Com- 
mentary on  Acts,"  xix.  7. 

2  1  Cor.  iv.  11, 12;  Acts  xx.  34. 


JEv.  49.] 

EPIIESUS    AND   PAUL. 

240 

his  own  nation  ;  for  he  loved  his  own,  —  that  pe- 

culiar 

people, 

to  whom  had  been 

entrusted  the 

word  of  God,  and  from  whom,  according  to  the 
flesh.  Christ  sprung.  Moreover,  they  lind  urged 
iiiin.  on  his  former  visit,  to  remain  amonff  them. 
\\'ith  "  onset  of  argument "  and  persuasion  kind 
he  plied  his  listeners  Sabbath  after  Sabbath. 
But  the  result  was  as  usual.  Many  of  them  were 
only  the  more  obdurate  and  stubborn  against 
the  claims  of  the  Gospel  the  more  they  heard 
of  it.  Pride  tilled  their  hearts,  —  the  pride  of 
aristocratic  exclusivencss,  —  and  left  no  place 
for  faith  in  the  Friend  of  sinners.  They  broke 
out  against  Paul,  and  publicly,  before  the  con- 
gregation, derided  and  ridiculed  the  way  of 
salvation  which  he  preached. 

Further  progress  in  that  direction  being  im- 
practicable, the  Apostle  turned  aside  from  the 
Jews,  forsook  the  s3^nagogue,  carrying  with 
him  all  who  believed  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and, 
having  secured  the  lecture-room  of  Tyrannus, — 
a  philosopher,  probably,  who,  having  been  con- 
verted, had  no  other  use  for  the  place  where  his 
former  pupils  met,  —  spoke  there  every  day  to 
the  people.  Here  Paul's  work  continued  two 
years, — only  a  brief  pastorate,  but  productive 
of  iri'eat  results. 

During  these  years,  what  a  faithful  pastor  he 
was  1     With  what  earnestness  did  he  preach  in 


250 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  65. 


I. 


■}J- 


public,  and  go  "'  from  house  to  house  " '  teach- 
ing the  way  of  salvation  !  His  "  tears  "  ^  tell  of 
the  tenderness  of  his  heart,  and  his  longing  for 
the  conversion  of  the  Ephesians  to  Christ.  He 
left  no  means  untried.  With  large  and  confi- 
dent hope  he  worked  on,  feeling  sure  that  his 
labor  would  not  ])e  in  vain  in  the  Lord*  And 
in  due  time  the  Lord  prospered  the  work.  Nor 
is  it  probable  that  Paul  confined  himself  to  the 
city.  There  were  other  smaller  cities,  not  far 
away,  and  the  surrounding  country  teeming 
with  people.  All  the  province  rang  with  the 
words  of  the  messenger  of  the  Gospel,  until 
every  ear  had  heard  the  glad  news. 

One  remarkable  incident  occurred  some  time 
during  these  two  years,  which  resulted  in  help- 
ing forward  the  cause  of  the  Gospel  at  the  ex- 
pense of  its  enemies.  The  Ephesians  believed 
in  an  I  practised  the  arts  of  magic.  No  city  in 
the  world  had  so  many  magicians  in  it  as 
Ephesus.  Astrology,  sorcery,  charms,  exor- 
cism, and  the  black  art  constituted  one  of  the 
liberal  professions,  —  practised,  not  by  wander- 
ing gypsies  merely,  but  by  men  and  women  of  all 
classes,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest.  Now 
God  gave  Paul  special  power  at  Ephesus  to  per- 
form miracles ;  and  he  did  not  hesitate  to  use 
the  power  given  him.     The  sick  were  cured, 

1  Acts  XX.  20.  2  Ibid.  31. 


.^-^; 


^T  49. 


EPIIESU.S    AND    PAUL. 


251 


and  evil  spirits  were  east  out.  Even  tlie  hand- 
iierchief  ho  carried  and  tlio  apron  he  wore  when 
at  work  were  made  the  means  of  carrying  super- 
natural eflScacy  and  healing  to  those  wlio  were 
at  a  distance.  We  might  think  that  the  im- 
mediate result  of  such  manifestation  of  power 
would  have  been  the  convincing  of  all  observers  ; 
but  it  was  quit<)  different.  The  people,  accus- 
tomed to  magical  performances,  were  ready  at 
once  to  attribute  these  miraculous  acts  also  to 
magic.  Besides,  some  strolling  Jews,  who  them- 
selves had  professed  to  be  able  to  cure  those 
who  were  possessed  with  evil  spirits,  or  who 
were  insane,  seeing  that  Paul  really  accom- 
plished, l)y  using  the  name  of  Jesus,  what  they 
only  i)retended  to  do,  undertook  themselves  to 
use  the  same  formula, — "We  adjure  you  l»y 
Jesus,  whom  Paul  preacheth." 

There  was  a  Jewish  chief  priest,  an  old  man, 
whose  name  was  Sceva.  This  man  had  seven 
sons,  who  had  dcseiled  the  I'cligion  of  their 
father,  and  the  holy  city  of  Jerusalem,  and 
were  wandering  about  the  world  together,  mak- 
ing a  living  by  magic  and  exorcism.  These 
fellows  agreed  together  to  make  use  of  the  holy 
name  of  our  Lord,  as  Paul  iiad  done,  to  drive 
an  evil  spirit  out  of  a  certain  man.  Hut  the  man 
only  scroamcd  wildly  nt  tiiem,  "Jesus  I  know, 
and  Paul  1  know;  but  who  are  you?"     Then, 


'.    r 


WB 


252 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  55. 


before  they  could  get  away,  he  leaped  upon 
them,  and,  with  the  ferocity  of  a  madman,  tore 
off  their  clothing  and  struck  right  and  left,  so 
that  when  they  did  escape  they  were  "naked 
and  wounded."  Such  a  scene  could  not  be 
kept  a  secret  in  Ephesus.  Evcrjbody,  Jews 
and  Greeks  alike,  knew  and  talked  about  it. 

It  would  have  been  ludicrous  if  it  had  not  been 
very  serious.  But  it  was  serious,  indeed.  God, 
the  Almighty,  had  come  into  P^phesus,  and  had 
allowed  himself  to  be  called  by  the  name  of 
Jesus.  This  was  what  they  thought.  Fear 
settled  down  upon  them.  They  did  not  dare 
any  longer  to  meddle  with  the  mummeries  and 
arts  of  magic.  INIany  of  these  magicians  made 
open  confession  of  the  ways  in  which  they  had 
deceived  the  people,  and  brought  together  costly 
books,  in  which  were  the  secrets  of  their  wicked 
trade,  and  made  .1  bonfire  of  them  in  an  open 
square.  It  is  an  indication  of  the  depth  of  the 
current  of  feeling  which  was  running  among  the 
Ephesian  magicians  that  these  men  were  willing 
to  sacrifice  so  niuch  that  was  of  real  value ; 
for  the  books  they  burned  might  have  been  sold 
for  "fifty  thousand  pieces  of  silver,"  or  more 
than  ten  thousand  dollars.  A  mighty  revival 
followed.  So  docs  God  make  the  wrath  of  man 
to  praise  him. 

There  were  at  Ephesus  at  this  time  a  large 


Mt.  49.] 


EPHESUS    AND   PAUL. 


2r)3 


\ 


number  of  leading  Christian  men,  whose  nainos 
have  come  down  to  ii8.  Paul  was  the  leader 
and  inspiiation  of  them  all.  With  him  we 
may  associate  Timothy,  Titus,  Aquila  and  his 
wife  ;  Apollos,  Gaius,  and  Aristarciius,  Sos- 
THENES  "our  lu'other,"^  who  was  whinped  by 
the  Jews  in  Corinth,  Tropiiimus,  '  a  i  ^phe- 
sian,"2  and  Tyciiicus  and  Erastu.-  \a  the 
neighboring  city  of  Colossse  were  Epaphroditus, 
Archippus,  Nymphas,  Philemon,  and  Onesi- 
Mus.  These,  with  the  many  faithful  helpers 
whose  names  are  known  only  in  hejwen,  consti- 
tuted a  strong  force  for  the  evanfjeliziniy  of  the 
city  and  neighboring  country.  The  work  spread 
rapidly.  Paul  himself,  during  the  three  years  at 
Ephesus,  nuist  have  visited  the  cities  that  Avere 
within  easy  rench  of  the  capital,  and  preached 
to  the  people  the  Gosi)el  concerning  Jesus. 
Very  soon  a  belt  of  Christian  fortresses  lay 
around  Ephesus.  Six  of  these  are  mentioned 
in  the  second  and  third  chapters  of  Revelation, 
—  Smyrna,  Pergamos,  Thyatira,  Sardis,  Phila- 
delphia, and  Laodicea. 

I^aodicea  was  one  of  three  cities  —  Laodicea, 
|fi*>rapolis,  and  Colossjv  —  which  were  situated 
on  th«  banks  of  the  Lvcus,  a  tributary  of  the 
Mseander.  These  three  cities  wer(>  within  a 
drcuit  of  twelve  miles  of  each  other,  and  about 


I 


i  1  Cer.  i.  I. 


2  Acts  xxi.  29. 


W— WPWW 


254 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


lA.D.  66. 


II       |i 


:i  hundred  and  fifty  miles  cast  of  Ephesus. 
"Laodicea  and  Hierapolis  stand  face  to  face, 
being  situated  respectively  on  the  southern  and 
northern  sides  of  the  valley,  at  a  distance  of 
six  miles,  and  within  sight  of  each  other,  the 
river  lying  in  the  open  plain  between  the  two. 
The  city  of  Colossa3  is  somewhat  higher  up  the 
stream,  at  a  distance  of  perhaps  ten  or  twelve 
miles  from  the  point  where  the  road  from  Lao- 
dicea  and  Hierapolis  crosses  the  Lycus.  .  .  . 
The  three  cities  lie  so  near  to  each  other  that 
it  would  be  'quite  possible  to  visit  them  all  in  the 
course  of  a  single  day."  ^  Paul,  prol)ably,  passed 
through  these  cities  on  his  last  journey  west- 
ward. He  may  have  visited  them  again  during 
his  stay  in  Ephesus.  If  not,  he  had  sent  others 
tliere  to  preach.  He  was  so  closely  attached  to 
the  Colossian  Christians  that  he  wrote  them  a 
letter  several  years  afterward  from  his  prison  in 
Rome,  in  which  he  refers  also  to  Laodicea  and 
Hierapolis. 2 

It  is  possible,  also,  —  though  the  information 
is  so  scant  that  we  cannot  be  certain  about  it, — 
that  at  some  time  while  at  Ephesus  the  Apostle 
made  a  hurried  trip  to  Corinth.  We  are  at 
least  sure  that  he  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Christians 


1  Lightfbot :   "  The  Churches  of  the  Lycus."     Intro,  to  Com- 
mentary on  "Colossians. 
•i  Cokommm  IV.  13. 


^T.  50.] 


EPHESUS    AND   PAUL. 


255 


in  that  city, — The  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinth- 
ians ^ — which  was  forwarded  by  the  hand  of  Titus. 
It  was  some  time  after  this,  that,  liaving  in  mind 
to  go  very  soon  himself  through  Macedonia  and 
Greece,  and  then  l)ack  to  Jerusalem,  he  sent  in 
advance  two  of  his  best  workers  north  across  the 
^gean  sea  to  Thessalonica,  Berea,  and  Philippi. 
These  were  Timothy  and  Erastus.  Paul  may 
have  received  some  message  from  Macedonia 
that  convinced  him  that  there  was  need  of  the 
immediate  presence  of  some  one  who  was  able 
to  counsel  and  direct  the  churches,  or  he  may 
have  had  some  special  message  of  his  own  which 
he  desired  to  communicate.  He  was  not  quite 
ready  to  leave  Ephesus  himself.  "A  great  door 
and  effectual"  had  been  opened  in  that  city,  and 
he  work  was  not  yet  completed.  His  purpose, 
however.  wa.s  to  get  away  soon  after  Pentecost.^ 
From  this  d^e,  it  is  natural  to  presume,  that 
liie  last  weeks  of  Paul's  stay  in  Ephesus  were 
those  preceding  Pentecost.  It  was  probably  in 
the  month  of  May.  Eleven  years  ago  in  May 
we  were  with  Paul  and  Barnabas  as  they  hurried 
arway  from  the  low  plains  of  Pamphylia  to  the 
Pisidian  mountains.  We  are  with  him  now  in 
the  heated  city.  He  has  seen  strange  experi- 
«»ee^  m  eeven  years.  He  has  had  much  to  en- 
dnire,  as  w^ll  as  much  to  encourage  him. 

'  1  Cor.  xvi.  9. 


«■ 


;l 


It, 


ill 


iii 


1    I 


256 


Life  of  paul. 


[A.T>.  M. 


The  whole  of  May  was  dedicated  l)y  a  special 
decree  to  the  Ephesian  Diana,  and  the  month 
was  called  on  that  account  Arteniision,  or  the 
month  of  Diana.  "  It  is  enacted,  that  the 
whole  month  Arteniision  in  all  the  days  of  it 
shall  be  holy,  and  that  throughout  the  month 
there  shall  be  a  continued  celebration  of  feasts 
and  the  Artemisian  festival  and  the  hierrnenia, 
seeing  that  the  entire  month  is  sacred  to  the 
goddess."  So  ran  the  decree.  It  was  a  festive 
moon  that  hung  over  Ephesus  in  May.  The 
balmy  da^'^s  and  the  soft,  still  nights  of  the 
Levantine  spring  were  given  up  to  indulgence 
in  every  -sort  of  festivity,  frivolity,  and  sin. 
Sports  and  games,  processions  and  races  and 
theatrical  performances,  drinking  and  dancing, 
and  revelry  and  debauch  made  the  city  gay 
and  wicked.  Ten  men,  elected  annually, 
called  Asiarchs,  "Chiefs  of  Asia,"^  had  charge 
of  these  festivities,  and  were  responsible  for 
the  entire  expense ;  so  that  all  the  enter- 
tainments and  amusements  were  public  and 
free.  Peo})lc  flocked  to  the  capital  in  Arte- 
mision  from  all  parts  of  the  province.  Fairs 
were  o]ien,  and  trade  was  brisk.  There  was 
one  branch  of  trade  that  was  particularly 
profitable  while  this  festival  was  running; 
namel\ ,  the  sale  of  images  of  Diana  and  of 
the  temple. 

^  Acts  xix.  31. 


Mt.S\.] 


EPHESUS    AXD   PAUL. 


257 


The  thousands  of  visitors  to  the  city  from 
distant  rural  districts,  and  other  cities  and 
towns,  were  accustomed  to  purchasing  these 
im.'iges  as  sacred  mementos  and  souvenirs  of 
the  festival.  But  this  year,  A.  D.  57,  pur- 
chases had  fallen  far  below  what  the}^  usually 
had  been.  Three  years  of  preaching  the  Gos- 
pel had  produced  positive  results.  The  people 
at  large  had  begun  to  see  the  folly  of  worship- 
ping the  ugly  image  that  fell  down  from  Jupiter. 
There  was  a  popular  movement  away  from 
Diana,  and  there  was  "no  small  stir"  about 
Christianity.  It  is  always  an  encouraging  in- 
dication when  religion  affects  business.  Paul 
had  the  privilege  of  observing  an  effect  of  this 
kind  from  his  teaching. 

The  silversmiths  and  coppersmiths  of  Ephe- 
sus  were  the  ones  who  suffered.  They  had  on 
hand  a  large  stock  of  silver  and  copper  rep- 
resentations of  Diana  and  of  the  great  temple, 
for  which  they  had  expected  to  find  a  market 
during  Artemision.  When,  however,  the 
month  was  drawing  to  a  close,  and  the  people 
were  scattering,  —  while  the  traders'  shelves 
were  still  loaded  with  wares  for  which  they 
were  likeh^  to  find  no  purchasers,  —  there  was 
no  little  fault-finding  over  the  changed  state 
of  affairs.  And  Paul  —  that  Jew  who  was  in- 
cessantly talking  about  Christ,  and  telling  the 


U     ■■  ■! 


Ill     ir'Mii 


258 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  67. 


people  that  they  were  no  gods  which  were 
made  by  men's  hands  —  was  the  object  upon 
whom  all  the  muttered  vexation  centred. 

At  length  Demetrius,  a  silver-manufacturer, 
who  employed  a  large  number  of  workmen, 
called  a  public  meeting — "a  trades-union 
meeting"^ — of  silversmiths  and  apprentices, 
his  own  workmen  and  others,  and  addressed 
them :  — 

"  Gentlemen ;  You  know  very  well  that  our 
income  is  dependent  upon  this  business.  You 
see  and  hear,  too,  how,  not  only  in  Ephesus, 
but  almost  throughout  all  Asia,  this  Paul  has 
persuaded  and  turned  away  a  great  many 
people,  saying  that  they  are  no  gods  which  are 
made  with  hands.  Now,  not  only  is  there 
danger  that  this  trade  of  ours  may  fall  into 
disrepute,  but  also  that  the  very  temple  of  the 
great  goddess  Diana  may  be  ignored,  and  that 
even  she  herself  shall  l)e  deposed  from  her  mag- 
nificence, whom  all  Asia,  ay,  the  whole  world, 
worships."^ 

This  outspoken  word  was  enough.  The  men 
cheered  Demetrius  to  the  echo ;  and,  with  one 
unanimous  shout,  "  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephe- 
sians ! "  the  meeting  broke  up.  The  crowd 
surged  through  the  street.  There  was  the 
utmost  confusion,  no  plan  or  concert  of  ac- 


1  Fanar  :^"St.  Paul,"  ii.  36. 


2  Acts  xix.  25-27. 


^T.  51.] 


EPHESUS    AND   PAUL. 


259 


tion  having  been  determined  upon.  Two  of 
Paul's  companions,  Cliristians,  were  unfortunate 
enough  to  be  ui)on  the  street,  and  to  fall  in  with 
the  mob  as  it  rushed  on  pell-mell  toward  the 
theatre.  The  crowd  at  once  seized  and  carried 
these  two  men  along  with  it,  —  very  likely 
with  the  wild  intention  of  adding  to  the  Arte- 
misian  festival  a  scene  that  would  outrival  all 
the  rest,  and  would  show  to  the  people  of  Ephesus 
the  color  of  Christian  blood.  Paul  was  soon 
informed  of  the  disturoance,  and  of  the  danger 
in  which  his  two  friends  stood.  It  was  like  the 
brave  Christian  that  he  was,  to  hasten  to  their 
rescue,  or  at  least  to  lay  down  his  life  in  the 
attempt ;  but  other,  if  not  wiser,  counsels  pre- 
vailed. The  disciples  who  were  about  him,  and 
who  knew  better,  perhaps,  than  he  himself  did, 
the  value  of  his  life,  would  not  permit  him  to 
go  into  that  angry  crowd.  Some  of  the  Asi- 
archs,  too,  —  those  rich  men  who  provided  for 
the  expenses  of  the  festival,  — "  being  his 
friends,"  sent  an  urgent  message  to  him  not  to 
encounter  any  such  risk. 

Meantime,  the  mob  that  swarmed  through  the 
fifty  thousand  sittings  of  the  vast  theatre  were 
shouting  in  confusion.  Most  of  the  people  did 
not  know  what  they  were  there  for,  nor  what  was 
to  be  done.  One  side  rang  with  one  thing,  the 
other  echoed  something  else.     There  were  Jews 


260 


LIFE   OF    PAl^L. 


[A,D.  M. 


in  tlie  crowd  ;  mikI  tiicy,  luiving  found  out  what 
was  the  cause  of  the  disturbance,  and  fearing 
thatthev^  miirht  he  identitied  witli  the  Christians, 
—  for  l*aul  the  Christian  was  a  Jew,  —  pushed 
forward  a  coppersmith  of  their  own  nationality, ' 
on^!  Alexander,  to  speak  for  them.  This  man 
h.ad  scarcely  stretched  out  his  hand  to  invite  the 
attention  of  tlie  assembly,  when,  turning  their 
eyes  upon  him,  they  saw  the  unmistakable 
Jewish  features.  No  Jew  should  be  heard 
that  day.  They  drowned  his  foreign  accent  in 
their  popular  cry,  "  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephe- 
sians  !  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians  !  " 

They  kept  up  this  monotonous  and  wild 
shouting  for  about  two  hours,  until  the  City 
Recorder,  "  the  legitimate  president  of  the  as- 
sembly, and,  as  such,  entitled  to  respectful  atten- 
tion," ^  poured  oil  upon  the  troubled  waters  in 
a  very  adroit  and  unansAverable  speech,  in  which 
he  assured  them  that  the  dignity  and  magnifi- 
cence of  their  goddess  were  above  the  possibil- 
ity of  reproach,  and,  moreover,  that  they  had 
dragged  up  two  men,  Gains  and  Aristarchus, 
who  were  not  guilty  of  any  sacrilege  against 
Diana.  Then  he  turned  upon  Demetrius,  the 
instigator  of  the  movement,  and  reminded  him 
that  if  he  or  his  friends  had  any  grievances, 

1  Farrar,  "  St.  Paul,"  i.  40;  Lewin,  "  St.  Paul,"  i.  410. 

2  Lewin,  i.  411. 


^T.  61.] 


EPHESUS   AND   PAUL. 


261 


they  must  settle  them  in  the  coui'ts,  and  not  by 
a  mob.  Finally,  he  declared  that  the  concourse 
was  a  violation  of  the  law,  for  which  they  might 
be  called  to  account. 

The  assembly  broke  up,  and  in  a  short  time 
the  theatre  was  empty.  The  tumult  accom- 
plished nothing  at  all.  The  tide  of  truth  con- 
tinued to  rise.  Ephesus  became  one  of  the 
most  influential  centres  of  Christianity  in  the 
world. 

But  Paul's  work  there  was  finished.  Once 
more  he  gathered  the  disciples  about  him,  — 
probably  in  the  school  of  Tyrannus,  the  hall 
where  they  had  been  accustomed  to  meet  for 
nearly  three  years,  —  exhorted  them  to  stand 
firm  in  the  faith  they  had  accepted,  and  then 
bade  them  farewell. 


i  "K 


i 

I 

t 


i(    ! 


li 


If 


CHAPTER  XX. 

A    FLYING    JOURNEY. 

"  The  care  of  all  the  churches."  —  2  CoR.  xi,  28. 

"  So  (lay  by  day  and  week  by  week, 
In  sad  and  weary  thought, 
They  muse,  wlioiti  God  Iiath  set  to  seek 

The  souls  liis  Christ  hath  bought."  -  Keble. 

X^TTHEN  Paul  left  Ephesus  he  had  a  definite 
*'  purpose,  namely,  to  visit  the  churches 
alread  organized  in  Macedonia  and  Greece. 
He  had  at  lea.st  two  specific  objects  in  making 
such  a  visit.  One  of  these  objects  was  to  in- 
struct and  direct  th'i  Christians  in  those  churches, 
for  some  of  them  were  very  ignorant  of  the 
obligations  and  privileges  of  the  Christian  life. 
He  also  felt  it  necessary  to  correct  certain 
abuses  that  had  arisen,  and  to  institute  a  healthy 
course  of  discipline  for  persistent  and  impeni- 
tent wrong-doers.  A  second  object  was  to  take 
a  collection  from  these  Gentile  churches  to  aid 
the  poor  Christians  of  Judea.  He  may  also 
have  bad  in  mind,  as  a  third  object,  to  select 
from  the  various  churches  certain  representative 
disciples,  who  should  accompany  him  lo  Jcrusa- 
262 


Mr.  61.) 


A   FLYING   JOURNEY. 


263 


lom,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  to  the  aristo- 
cratic Christians  of  Judea  that  the  grace  of  God 
had  really  reached  to  the  Gentiles.^ 

From  Luke's  account,  and  from  letters  Paul 
wrote  while  on  this  circuit,  we  ohtain  the  follow- 
ing outline :  — 

"Paul  d(  parted  [from  Ephcsus]  to  go  into 
Macedonia."'  ^  "  Whon  I  came  to  Troas  to  preach 
Christ's  Gospel,  and  a  door  was  opened  unto  me 
of  the  Lord,  I  had  no  rest  in  my  spirit,  because 
I  found  not  Titus,  my  brother,  but,  taking  my 
leave  of  them,  I  ^vent  from  thence  into  Mace- 
donia."^ "When  we  were  come  into  Macedo- 
nia .  .  .  God  .  .  .  comforted  us  by  the  coming 
of  Titus.'"*  "When  he  had  gone  over  those 
parts"  .  .  .  "round  about  unto  Illyricum  I  have 
fully  preached  the  Gospel  "  ^  .  .  .  "  he  came  into 
Greece,  and  there  abode  three  months."  ^ 

Troas  was  about  one  hundred  and  tifty  miles 
north  of  Ephesus.  Thither  Paul  directed  his 
steps,  expecting  soon  to  meet  at  that  point  Titus, 
who,  a  few  weeks  before,  had  ])een  despatched 
to  Corinth  with  instruction  to  johi  the  apostolic 
company  at  Troas.  Paul  had  been  in  this  city 
five  years  before,  but  not  to  stay,  however ;  for  a 
vision  of  a  man  from  Macedonia  had  called  him 

1  Baum<,'arten,  "Apo-iolic  History,"  ii.  316. 

2  Acts  XX.  1.  5  Rora.  XV.  19. 

3  2  Cor.  ii.  12.  6  Acts  xx.  3. 
*  2  Cor.  vii.  6. 


II 


2(54 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  r.7. 


immediately  ucrosn  the  ^T^]gean.  But,  Titus  does 
not  come,  and  Paul  is  anxious  to  hear  how  matters 
arc  going  in  the  church  at  Corinth.  Hoping  to 
meet  the  messenger  sooner,  there  tore,  he  passes 
over  to  Neapolis  and  up  to  Philippi.  Here  he 
finds  Luke,  who  was  left  at  Phili})pi  several  years 
before ;  and  here,  also,  Titus  comes  with  a 
message  from  Corinth.  This  news  was,  on  the 
whole,  good ;  though  there  were  some  of  the 
members  of  the  church  in  Corinth  who  would 
not  submit  to  the  Christian  rule.  Paul  wrote 
another  letter,  —  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Cor- 
inlhians  ;  and  Titus,  accompanied  by  two  others, 
and  bearing  this  letter,  hurried  away  again  to 
Corinth. 

For  several  months  Paul  remains  in  Macedo- 
nia,—  at  Philippi  with  his  "6e.vMoved  church," 
at  Thessalonica  among  the  Christian  spinners 
and  weavers,  at  Berea  v»'ith  disciples  who 
"  searched  the  scriptures  daily,"  and  far  away 
to  the  northwestern  boundary  of  the  province, 
preaching  the  Gospel,  gathering  new  churches, 
and  increasing  the  collection  for  Jerusalem. 

It  was  in  the  early  winter  when  he  went  south 
to  Corinth.  He  had  with  him  Timothy,  his 
long-time  companion,  Tychicus  and  Trophimus 
of  Ephesus,  Sopater  of  Berea,  Gaius  of  Derbe, 
Aristarchus  and  Secundus  of  Thessalonica. 
"  All  these  formed  a  sort  of  apostolic  caravan 


Mt.  51.1 


A    FLYINO   JOURNEY 


265 


of  :i  very  imposln*;  sispect."'  Titus  and  the 
two  other  bretliren  were  uhoudy  at  Corintli. 
Paul  was  the  guest  of  ri.'iius,^  on  this  visit,  as  he 
had  l>een  the  guest  of  Aquila  on  the  former. 

For  three  months  now  the  Apostle  is  very 
busy  in  Corinth.  The  chureli  had  not  made  the 
progress  during  four  years  that  it  ought  to  have 
made.  Soon  after  Paul's  departure  it  had  fallen 
into  divisions,  —  Apollosites,  Cephasites,  Paul- 
ites,  —  after  which,  questions  about  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  Christian  iaith  were  thrust  in  among 
them  by  envious  Jews ;  then  came  conformity 
of  life  to  the  heathen,  and  with  this,  gross  im- 
moralitv.  In  addition  to  the  care  and  disci- 
pline  and  edification  of  the  Corinthian  church, 
Paul  suffered  an  additional  trial  by  the  news  that 
came  from  Galatia,  that  the  Christians  there 
also  had  grown  careless  in  the  absence  of  the 
pastor  who  first  led  them  to  Christ.  This  news 
was  the  occasion  of  his  writing  the  Epistle  to 
the  Galatiaiifi.  About  the  same  time,  while  the 
Apostle  is  still  at  Corinth,  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans  was  written,  and  sent  to  Rome  by 
Phoebe,  a  Christian  woman,  who  resided  at  Cen- 
chrea,  about  seven  miles  from  Corinth,  and  who 
was  going  to  Rome  to  attend  to  some  business 
matters  of  her  own.*^ 


1  Rcnan :  '•  St.  Paul,"  272. 
•i  Rom.  xvi.  23. 


B  Rom.  xri.  2. 


'     !i 


266 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  68. 


^      i 


After  this,  Paul  decided  to  return  once  more 
to  Jerusalem.  He  wanted  to  celebrate  the 
Feast  of  Pentecost  that  year  in  the  courts  of  the 
Temple  in  the  city  of  his  boyhood's  dreiims.  It 
was  part  of  his  piMii,  evidently,  to  go  directly  l)y 
sea,  sailing  from  Ccnchrea.  But  those  old  en- 
emies, the  Jews,  who  on  his  former  visit  had 
failed  so  entirely  to  drive  him  out  of  Corinth, 
laid  a  secret  plot  to  assassinate  him  on  the  road, 
and  at  tlie  same  time  to  rol)  the  messengers  of 
the  churches  who  accompanied  him  with  the  col- 
lection. But  Paul  was  informed  of  their  inten- 
tion, and  with  his  accustomed  rapidity  of  move- 
ment changed  his  plans,  sending  Timothy  and 
some  of  the  rest  off  by  sea  to  Troas ;  while  he 
himself,  with  some  others,  made  the  journey 
overland  to  Philippi,  which  was  reached  just 
before  the  Passover. 

From  this  point  and  date  we  are  able  to  trace 
the  Apostle  through  the  days  of  the  month  and 
of  the  week,  until  his  arrival  in  Jerusalem  at 
Pentecost.^ 


March  27, 

Monday, 

Passover  at  Philippi  commenced. 

April     3, 

(( 

Passover  at  Philippi  closed. 

"        4, 

Tuesday, 

Paul  went  to  Neapolis. 

"        8, 

Saturday, 

Arrived  at  Troas. 

"      16, 

Sabbath, 

Preached  at  Troas. 

"      17, 

Monday, 

Walked  to  Assos,  and  sailed  that 
evening  to  Mitylene. 

1  See  Lewiu :  "  St.  Paul,"ii.  chap.  ii. 


ii ' 


jEt.  62.] 


A   FLYING   JOURNEY. 


267 


April 

18, 

Tuesday, 

Left  Mitylene. 

(( 

19, 

Wednesday, 

Arrived  at  Samos. 

(( 

20, 

Thursday  (afternoon),      Reached   Milntus,  and 

sent  messengers  to  Ephesus. 

(( 

23, 

Sunday, 

Dclv  Ration  came  from  Ephesus. 

(( 

24, 

Monday, 

Sailed  from  Miletut'. 

(( 

25, 

Tuesday, 

At  IJliodes. 

(( 

26, 

Wednesday, 

At  Patara. 

(( 

27, 

Thursday, 

Passed  Cyprus. 

(( 

30, 

Sunday, 

Readied  Tyre,  and  remained  one 

week. 

May 

8, 

Monday, 

Sailed  to  Ptolemais. 

<( 

10, 

Wednesday, 

Came  overland  to  Caesarea. 

(< 

15, 

Monday, 

Started  on  the  journey  up  to  Jeru- 
salem. 

(< 

n, 

Wednesday, 

Arrived  at  .Jerusalem  in  time  for 
the  Pentecost  at  8  p.m. 

that 


This  is  an  outline  of  the  rapidest  journey 
Paul  ever  made.  The  delays  before  he  reached 
Palestine  were,  apparently,  only  such  as  were 
necessary.  At  Philippi  he  stopped,  as  any  de- 
vout Jew  Avould  be  ^ikely  to  have  done,  during 
the  Passover.  Between  l*hilip])i  and  Troas  the 
passage  must  have  been  lengthened  by  heavy 
weather  and  head-winds.  At  Troas  we  may 
presume  that  they  were  waiting  for  a  vessel 
bound  I^ast.  The  week  there,  however,  was 
not  spent  without  earnest  preaching  and  good 
results. 

On  the  last  Sabbath  at  Troas,  in  the  evening, 
the  whole  church  came  together  to  listen  to  Paul, 
who  was  to  preach  to  them  for  the  last  time,  and 


2fi8 


LIFE   OF    P^JLL. 


[A.Dl  58. 


:ni!! 


'   ! 


;i  •< 


* 


to  administer  the  Lord's  supper.  They  were  as- 
sembled in  a  room  in  the  third  f?torv.  Althouich 
the  night  was  dari^  outside,  the  i)lace  where  this 
meeting  was  held  was  well-lighted  with  lamps. 
Paul  preached  a  very  long  sermon  that  evening. 
The  streets  of  Troas  had  become  perfectly  still. 
The  lights  in  the  houses  were  out  long  ago  ;  l>ut 
still  Paul  kept  on  an  unbroken  stream  of  intentrC 
speech  until  midnight,  and  the  people  listened 
with  unflaiTffinff  attention.  There  was  a  lad, 
however,  who,  not  being  able  to  find  a  seat  in 
the  crowded  room  anywhere  else,  sat  on  the  sill 
of  the  open  window.  He  could  not  listen  so 
long  ;  but  got  very  sleepy.  His  eyes  would  close  ; 
his  head  nodded.  No  one  seems  to  have  noticed 
him,  until,  falling  fast  asleep,  he  leaned  over  so 
iir  that  he  lost  his  l)alance,  and  with  a  scream  of 
cerror  tumbled  out  of  the  v/imdow  to  the  irround 
below.  The  people  rushed  down  the  stairs,  and 
the  poor  boy  Eutychus,  —  for  that  was  his  name, 
—  was  picked  up  dead.  Paul  came  down  with 
the  rest.  There  was  great  himentation  ;  ])ut  Paul 
had  power  given  him,  as  he  had  to  heal  the  sick 
in  Kpliesus,  and  to  cure  Publius,  also  to  bring 
this  boy  to  life  Mgain.  After  quieting  the  peo- 
ple with  a  comforting  Avord,  — "Weep  not,  for 
he  is  alive,"  —  PmuI  went  up  jigain  to  the  unper 
room,  and  the  meotinir.  so  suddenlv  intc:  ./ced, 
was  resumed.      The  Lord's  supper  was  observed, 


as- 


Mt.  52,] 


A    FLYING    JOURNEY. 


269 


after  which  thoy  ('(^iiti'nned  to  talk  together 
until  dawn.  Then  Paul  left  them  and  started 
across  the  country  alone,  nineteen  miles  to 
Assos,  wher  .^c  vvas  to  meet  his  companions 
who  had  already  sailed  for  the  same  point  around 
the  Cape.  Their  good  ship  sailed  away  south 
from  Assos  as  the  sun  set  Monday  evening  ;  and 
in  the  afternoon  of  Thursday,  havin<>-  touched  at 


i^jSSSSB^SH 

eS!^^^^^^':^^^  "^^^^'^^^z^^^SS^^^^S^'^.^'p^i* 

'"^^=^^^7^:^-7  '"  \  ■'      ~^W^\^^t4k 

-df '  ^^bai^^-^gy^^i^iia  jt^ 

•^     f>    ■                 :    r-^             -;  '^ 

^4--.  ■■"  *                ■  "  -       ' ~     --■ 

-7'    ^-^  ,-  -  I 

Mvtilene  on  Leshos,  and  at  Chios,  and  crossed 
the  harbor  of  Ephesus,  so  close  to  the  city  where, 
a  year  before,  there  had  been  such  confusion  and 
danger,  and  passed  safely  through  the  narrow 
gut  between  Samos  and  the  rocky  pron\ontory 
of  Troofilium,  where  they  were  obliwd  to  anchor 
for  a  night,  they  ran  into  the  port  of  Miletus, 
some  thirty-six  miles  south  of  Ej)hesus.  It 
was  likclv  to  be  several  davs  before  they  could 
continue  their  journey ;  and  Paul,  anxious 
to  see  some  of  the  Christians  trom  Ephesus, 
sent  word  to  them,  that  if  they  would  make 
haste  he  might  see  them  at  Miletus  before  he 
sailed  again. 


'^   ililiiili 


270 


LIFE    OF    PAUL. 


[A.D.  88. 


!ii 


i!!i| 


li:!; 


There  uns  a  strange  prcsentiiiieiit  in  Paul's 
mind  durini:-  this  journev.  He  felt  tlutt  he  was 
eoni[)elled,  by  some  authority  sui)erior  to  his  own 
will,  to  go  to  JerusahMu,  while  all  th(^  time  he 
did  not  know  what  a  melancholy  fate  might  he 
preparing  for  him  there.  He  was  quite  sure, 
though,  that  whatever  happened  he  was  not 
likely  ever  to  see  his  E})hesian  brethren  again  ; 
and  he  wanted  once  more  to  re})oat  to  them  the 
plain  truth  of  the  Gos})el,  and  to  warn  them  of 
the  enemies  of  their  souls,  who  would  creep  in 
among  them,  ''not  sparing  the  fiock." 

When  the  men  came  from  Ephesus  to  Miletus, 
Paul  addressed  them  in  these  familiar  and 
earnest  words  :  — 

"  You  know,  from  the  first  dnv  I  set  foot  in 
Asia,  the  manner  of  my  life  among  you  all 
the  time, —  how  I  served  the  Lord  with  hu- 
mility, and  with  many  tears  and  trials  which 
come  upon  mu^  by  the  plots  of  the  Jews ;  and 
how  I  withi.  d  nothing  that  would  be  helpful 
to  you,  but  taught  you  both  pul>licly  and  from 
house  to  house,  testifying  to  both  eTews  and 
Greeks  their  need  of  repentance  towards  God, 
and  of  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And 
now,  behold,  I  go  bound  in  the  spirit  unto 
Jerusalem,  not  knowing  wiiat  may  happen  to 
me  there,  except  as  the  Holy  Spirit  testifies  to 


M. 


Mt.  S2.1 


A   FLYTNO   JOtlRJfEY. 


271 


1110  in  every  city  that  bonds  and  altlictions  are 
waiting  for  inc.  Hut  none  of  tliese  things 
troul)le  ine  ;  nor  do  1  count  even  my  life  dear, 
if  only  I  can  tinisli  my  course  with  joy,  and  the 
ministry  wliich  I  have  received  of  tlie  Lord 
Jesus  to  declare  the  jj^hid  lidintrs  of  the  i>race  of 
God.  And  now,  behold,  I  know  that  a-  of 
you,  among  whom  1  have  gone  preaching  the 
kingdom  of  (iod,  shall  see  my  face  no  more. 
A\' here  fore  I  take  3'ou  to  witness  this  day  that 
I  am  pure  from  the  blood  of  all ;  for  I  have 
not  shrank  from  declaring  unto  you  the  whole 
counsel  of  God.  Be  watchful,  therefore,  of 
yourselves,  and  of  all  the  flock  for  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  has  made  you  pastors ;  that  you 
feed  the  church  of  God  which  he  purchased 
with  his  own  blood.  For  of  this  I  am  sure, 
that  after  my  departure  atrocious  wolves  shall 
come  in  among  you,  who  will  not  spare  the 
flock ;  and  from  your  own  num))er  men  will 
arise  who  will  speak  perverted  words  that 
they  may  lead  away  the  disciples.  Therefore, 
be  watchful,  and  remember  that  for  three  years 
I  ceased  not  to  warn  every  one  of  you,  night 
and  day,  with  tears.  And  now  I  commend  3'ou 
to  God,  and  to  the  word  of  his  grace,  which  is 
able  to  build  up  and  to  give  an  inheritance 
among  all  them  that  are  holy.     When  I  was 


I  i 


I1 


272 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


tA.D.  58. 


with  you,  I  coveto  no  man's  silver  or  gold  or 
clothing.  You  know  yourselves  that  these 
hands  worked  to  provide  the  necessities  of  life 
for  mj^self  and  for  those  who  were  with  me.  In 
all  this  I  gave  you  an  example,  to  show  you 
that  so  laboring  we  ought  to  support  the  help- 
less, and  to  remember  the  words  of  the  Lord 
Jesus,  — how  he  said,  *  It  is  morehlessed  to  give 
than  to  receive.^  "  ^ 

At  the  close  of  this  touching  speech  they  all 
together  fell  upon  their  knees,  and  Paul  prayed. 
His  heart  was  overflowing,  and,  as  the  last 
word  of  the  earnest  prayer  passed  from  his  lips, 
they  gathered  about  him  and  fell  upon  his  neck 
and  kissed  him  and  wept,  grieved  most  of  all  at 
that  ono  sad  sentence,  "  You  shall  see  my  face 
no  more." 

It  was  with  no  little  diflSculty  that  the  apos- 
tolic ])and  tore  themselves  away  from  the  cling- 
ing hearts  of  these  Ephesian  disciples,  who 
must  go  back  to  the  city  of  Diana  alone.  But 
the  ship  was  ready  to  weigh  anchor,  and  when 
all  had  hurried  aboard,  she  sped  rapidly  south, 
past  Cos  and  Rhodes  to  Patara.  Hero  the  pas- 
«enjrers  to  Judea  are  obli<yed  to  chang-e  vessels 
again,  and,  finding  one  bound  for  Tyre  in  Phoe- 
nicia, they  engage  passage  in  her.  It  is  about 
three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  Patara  to 

1  Acts  XX.  18-35. 


Mr.  62.] 


A   FLYING   JOURNEY. 


273 


Tyre,  —  a  voyage  with  a  fair  wind  of  from  two 
to  four  days.  The  open  sea  lies  before  the 
vessel  as  she  leaves  Patara.  It  is  the  evening 
of  April  26,  and  the  moon  is  full.'  Day  and 
night  the  green  waves  fall  away  from  the  bows 
of  the  vessel,  and  rush  hissing  along  her  hurry- 
ing keel.  Cyprus  is  sighted  on  the  left,  and 
passed  rapidly.  The  next  land  in  sight  is  the 
lofty  range  of  Lel)anon,  and  in  a  few  hours 
more  they  are  at  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  the 
capital  city  of  PhcKnicia. 

Tj're,  the  capital  of  Phoenicia,  was  splendidly 
situated  at  the  head  of  a  peninsula  which  jutted 
out  into  the  jNIediterranean.  The  extremity 
of  this  peninsula  was,  until  later  centuries,  an 
island,  between  which  and  the  mainland  the 
sand  has  been  carried  by  the  currents,  until  the 
channel  has  gradually  been  entirely  filled.  The 
city  at  the  present  time  is  only  a  miserable 
ruin,  in  which  two  or  three  thousand  Orientals 
drag  out  an  existence.  The  glory  of  Tyre  has 
departed.  There  is  nothing  to  remind  the  trav- 
eller of  the  riches  and  brilliance  of  the  ancient 
city,  —  of  its  far-famed  arts  and  manufactures, 
and  of  the  extensive  trade  it  hold  with  the 
Eastern  and  the  Western  worlds,  both  by  land 
and  sea. 

1  Conybeare  and  Ilowson  :  "  St.  Paul,"  ll.  227. 


1 


*- 


ii!! 


'!'i 


»il1 


S74  Life  of  VAXit,  •  [a.d.bs. 

"Dim  is  her  ^l<ii\ ,  ^<>iu  lior  liiiiic, 

Her  l)ou^^tell  wealtli  has  tied  ; 
On  her  proud  rock,  tilas !  her  shame, 

The  lislierVs  net  is  spread. 
The  Tyrian  harp  has  slumbered  long, 

And  Tyria's  mirth  is  low ; 
The  timbrel,  dulcimer,  and  song 

Are  hushed,  or  wake  to  woe."  * 

In  all  probaljility  Paul  had  visited  Tyre  be- 
fore, on  some  of  his  journeys  going  to  or  return- 
ing from  Jerusalem  ;  and  he  may  have  organized 
the  Christian  church  in  this  city.  It  is  very 
likely,  too,  that  Jesus  hhnself  had  preached 
there.  It  was  only  thirty  miles  from  the  little 
town  of  Nazareth,  where  Jiisus  lived  most  of 
his  life,  and  lie  may  Often  have  gone  there  while 
yet  an  unknown  carpenter ;  2  jjud  during  his 
ministry,  if  he  did  not  enter  the  city,  he  was 
in  its  neighborhood,  where  he  performed  some 
of  his  miracles.^ 

The  ship  that  brought  the  Apostle  and  his 
companions  from  Patara  had  to  discharge  her 
cargo  at  Tyre.  This  would  take  several  days. 
While  the  .ship-hands  are  ])usy  removing  the 
grain  or  wine  from  the  hold  of  the  vessel  to 
the  docks  and  warehouses,  Paul  and  the  rest  go 
up  into  the  city  to  find  the  Christians  who  live 
in  Tyre.     According  to  our  previous  reckoning 

1  W.  M.  Thomson  ;  "  Central  Palestine,"  p.  627. 

2  Smith's  Bible  Diet,,  in.  3335. 
8  Mark  vii.  24. 


Mr.  &2.1 


A    FLVIN(J    .lOUUNEV. 


275 


they  arrived  at  Tyro  on  Sunday,  and  remained 
there  seven  whole  (hiys,  until  the  Monday  of 
the  following  week.  During  this  time  the 
Tyrian  Christians  urged  Paul  to  stay  away  from 
Jerusalem.  They  had  a  premonition  that  it 
was  a  dangerous  place  for  him. 

Their  shij)  is  ready  to  wing  her  way  south 
again.  She  is  already  in  the  oflSng.  How 
affectionate  the  farewell !  The  missionaries 
have  been  here  only  a  week ;  but  that  is  long 
enough  for  hearts  to  knit  closely.  The  Chris- 
tians,—  men,  women,  and  children,  —  all  to- 
gether, followed  them  out  of  the  city,  and  down 
to  the  shore.  There,  upon  the  beach,  under 
the  open  sky,  while  the  sea-breeze  cools  the 
summer  morning,  they  kneel  and  pray ;  then 
say  "Good-bye,"  and  "God  bless  you,"  one 
and  all.  The  travellers  go  on  board,  and  the 
Christians  of  Tyre  watch  them  with  tear- 
diumied  eyes,  and  then  return  to  their  homes. 

That  Monday  afternoon  Paul  and  his  compan- 
ions landed  at  Ptolemais,  the  modern  Acre,  and 
the  long  voyage  was  ended.  One  day  only  is 
spent  in  this  i)lace.  On  Wednesday  they  made 
the  journey,  about  forty  miles,  overland  to 
Cwsareu,  the  political  capital  of  Palestine. 

Philip  the  Kvangelist,  that  ])rave  man,  who, 
though  driven  out  of  »Terusalem  by  the  perse- 
cutions set  on  foot  by  aristocratic  and  narrow- 


p  4 


m 


III 


i\' 


i,  1 


III 

i.i!:' 


>ii 


270 


MFK   OF    PAl  L. 


[A.n.  M. 


minded  Jews,  dared,  nevertheless,  to  baptize  an 
Ethiopian  eunuch,  and  to  preach  the  Gospel  to 
the  Samaritans  and  to  the  Philistines,  resided 
at  Cjesarea.  Philip  was  as  large-hearted  as  he 
was  brave.  He  was  well-known  in  the  city, 
having  lived  there  many  years.  To  his  house 
the  missionaries  all  go,  and  receive  the  welcome 
of  warm  Christian  hospitality.  Paul  has  now 
several  days  to  spare  ;  tor  it  will  ))e  a  week  be- 
fore the  Pentecost,  and  three  days  are  ample 
time  for  tiie  journey  from  Cajsarea  to  Jerusalem. 
He  prefers  to  spend  these  days  with  Philip  and 
his  family.  The  Evangelist  had  four  daugh- 
ters, all  of  whom  had  inherited  their  father's 
zeal,  and  "had  devoted  to  the  service  of  the 
Gospel  their  virgin  lives." '  It  was  a  sunny, 
earnest,  Christian  home.  What  a  comfort  for 
Paul,  weary,  and  anxious  for  the  future,  to 
have  these  four  days  of  loving  companionship 
and  peaceful  rest  with  persons  of  opinions  and 
feelings  so  nmch  like  his  own. 

While  these  pleasant  daj-s  were  passing,  the 
prophet  Agabus  cauK*  down  from  Jerusalem, 
and  found  his  way  also  to  Philip's  house.  He 
met  Paul.  Taking  the  Apostle's  girdle  he 
quickly  tied  it  around  his  own  hands  and  feet, 
and  said  in  his  abrupt  and  positive  manner, 
knowing  very  well   that   he  was   utteiing   the 

1  Farrar :  "  St.  Paul,"  II.  289. 


JET.  52.] 


A    FLYING   JOURNEY. 


277 


truth:  "So  speaks  the  Holy  Spirit.  In  this 
way  shall  tho  Jews  at  Jcrujsulcm  l)iii(l  the  man 
who  owns  this  L'irdle,  and  deliver  him  to  the 
Gentiles."  This  was  no  more  than  Paul  :dready 
suspected,  if  he  did  noi  know  it  as  well  as 
Agabus  (lid.  He  was  making  this  Journey, 
although  willingly,  yet  under  the  shadow  of 
very  dark  ipprehensiDUN.  His  friends,  alarmed 
by  the  wan  iig  of  Agabus,  united  in  endeavor- 
ing to  persuade  him  iliat  he  should  not  go  to 
Jerusalem.  Paul  however  remained  firm  to 
his  purpose.  The  Divine  finger  pointed  onward. 
No  human  voice  t'ould  ;illure  him  back.  "What 
do  you  mean?"  he  cried,  "to  weep  and  break 
my  heart?  for  I  am  ready  not  only  to  be  bound, 
»»ut  even  to  die  at  Jerusalem  for  tho  name  of 
the  Lord  Jesus."  They  said  no  more,  except 
to  add  that  one  word  of  Christian  resignation, 
"The  will  of  llie  Lord  be  done." 

We  like  to  linger  with  Paul  at  Philip's  home, 
these  few  quiet  days ;  for  we  will  never  see  him 
again  under  such  peaceful  circumstances.  We 
dread  the  ine\  itable  hour  when  he  nuist  pack 
up  his  baggage,  and  start  on  his  journey  across 
the  country  to  Jerusalem.  But  the  days  move 
relentlessly  on.  Monday  morning  dawns  after 
a  Sabbath  of  blessed  Christian  communion. 
Wednesday  evening  at  six  o'clock  tho  opening 
service  of  the  Feast  of  IVntecost  commences. 


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278 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  58, 


A  large  number  of  Jews  are  going  up  from 
Csesarea,  and  some  also  of  the  Christian  Jews. 
Paul  and  his  company  leave  the  city  attended 
by  disciples  who  love  him  too  well  to  let  him 
go  alone.  He  will  return  to  C^ssarea  in  a  few 
days ;  but  with  a  different  kind  of  escort,  and 
to  be  the  guest  of  a  very  different  host  from 
Philip  the  Evangelist. 


[A.D.  58. 

^  from 
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PART  FIFTH. 


^vttstr  S^al^  %mpxisjoinmmu 


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i/i| 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

THE  ARREST  AT  JERUSALEM. 

"TheyshciU  lay  their  hamls  on  you,  and  shall  persecute  you, 
deliverino^  you  up  to  the  synafjogues  anil  prisons,  bringing  you 
before  kings  and  governors  for  my  name's  sake."  —  Luke  xxi.  12. 

'*  Why,  let  him  do  it !  —  1  am  here,  prepared 
For  all  things  and  their  pangs."  — Mrs.  Browning. 

A  LL  the  loveline.ss  of  opening  summer  covers 
-^^  the  plain  of  Sharon,  through  which  the 
road  pas.-;es  from  Ctestireii  to  Jerusalem.  The 
early  corn  is  rustling  in  the  tields,  the  hills  and 
meadows  are  mantled  with  green,  the  roadsides 
are  sprinkled  with  bright  flowers.  At  this  sea- 
son of  the  year.  Nature  is  extravagant  in  her 
display  of  luxuries  throughout  Palestine  ;  and  no 
part  of  Palestine  is  more  beautiful  than  Sharon. 
"The  rose  of  Sharon,"  the  lilies  of  the  valleys, 
the  forests,  the  flocks,  all  are  of  the  sweetest, 
fairest,  grandest,  best. 

Through  this  scene  of  beauty  and  freshness 
an  old  man  is  passing,  —  not  a  very  old  man  in 
years,  indeed,  but  one  worn  with  care  and  travel 
and  exposure  and  suffering.  He  is  accomivmied 
by  friends  who  know  and  hvc  him  well.     All 

2«1 


m 


.A 


I 


■'i'immmm^^ 


it 


•  r 


liil 


!"j 


i^!i 


•i 


ml 


I 


I  i 


li 


III!'! 


i 


i'l 


282 


LIFE   OF    PAUL. 


[A.D.  58. 


who  really  knew  Paul  loved  him.  There  is 
little  conversation  as  the}^  move  along.  Paul 
is  silent.  A  great  anxiety  about  the  result 
upon  his  work  of  this  visit  to  the  Christians  at 
Jerusalem  absorbs  all  his  thoughts.  He  de- 
sires most  of  all,  now,  to  heal  the  wounds  and 
bind  up  the  separations  that  have  always  ex- 
isted between  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  believers 
in  Jesus.  This  is  his  purpose  in  going  to  Jeru- 
salem. This  is  why  he  has  with  him  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Gentile  churches.  It  is  for 
this  purpose  that  they  come  bringing  the  gen- 
erous contributions  of  the  Christians  in  Asia  and 
Macedonia  and  Greece. 

On  their  arrival  at  Jerusalem,  Wednesday, 
they  are  conducted  by  their  friends  from  CaB- 
sarea  to  the  house  of  one  who  had  been  a  disci- 
ple many  years,  —  Mnason,  a  Cj'prian,  who 
was  well-known  as  a  heartv  Christian  and  a 
genial  host.  Here  they  received  a  warm  wel- 
come from  Mnason  himself,  and  from  other 
brethren  who  assembled  as  soon  as  they  knew 
that  Paul  had  arrived. 

The  next  day,  the  Day  of  Pentecost,  James, 
the  venerable  pastor  of  all  the  churches  ot  «ieru- 
salem,  with  the  "conclave  of  ordained  ministers  "^ 
of  the  city,  came  together  to  receive,  in  a  more 
formal  and  public  manner,  the  Great  Apostle  and 

1  Lewin,  ii.  139. 


[A.D.  58. 


JEW  oL-.] 


THE    AKHEST    AT    .lEIlUSALEAI. 


9^'i 
<i<~»> 


lere  is 

Paul 

result 

ians  at 

le  de- 

ds  and 

ys  ex- 

ilievers 

)  Jeru- 

repre- 

is  for 

le  gen- 

sia  and 

lesday, 
in  Cse- 
disci- 
who 
and  a 
ni  wel- 
otlier 
r  knew 

Tames, 
fjeru- 
sters  "  ^ 
a  more 
tie  and 


his  companions.  This  meeting  was  the  point  to 
which  Paul  had  been  looking  forward.  The 
first  thing  to  do  wjis  to  present  the  money  col- 
lected from  the  Gentile  Christians.  One  after 
anoth<^rtlie  delegates  stepped  forward,  and,  tak- 
ing from  under  their  girdles  the  leathern  bags, 
poured  their  contents  upon  the  table.  The  whole 
made  a  handsome  pile  of  gold  coins,  and  'the 
eyes  of  James  and  his  comi)ani()n  Jewish  minis- 
ters glistened  and  ijrew  larg-e  at  the  sio-ht.  Then 
Paul  recounted  to  them  all  that  he  had  done  and 
experienced  while  away  these  last  four  years. 
They  were  interested  to  hear  about  cities  and 
churches  that  could  furnish  such  contributions  ; 
and  some  of  them  rejoiced  to  know,  that  under 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  so  many  had  been 
induced  to  believe  on  Christ.  When  Paul  had 
finished,  they  praised  the  Lord  ;  but  their  praise 
was  feeble,  and  verv  soon  it  turned  into  a  cold 
criticism  of  the  Lord's  faithful  servant. 

"Do  not  think,  brother,  that  the  Gentile 
Christians  are  cver\' thing.  See  how  many 
thousands  of  Jews  there  are  which  believe,  — 
Jews  who  at  the  same  time  are  zealous  to  ob- 
serve all  tlie  law  of  Moses  !  AVe  hear  —  is  it 
true?  —  that  you  teach  all  the  Jews  which  are 
amono'  the  Gentiles  that  thcv  need  not  observe 
the  law.  What  nuist  happen  then?  Every- 
body will  soon  know  that  you  are  in  the  cit\  ; 


I 

i 


; 


1^' 


!  II 


.i,,t 


ll'f-'^l 


mi 


"'Hi;:; 


284 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[a.d.58. 


and  when  u  is  known  that  you  are  here,  then 
look  out !  Take  our  advice.  Here  are  four 
Christian  Jews  who  have  a  vow  upon  them  ; 
but  they  are  so  ]ioor  that  they  are  not  able  to 
discharge  it.  'I'akc  thoso  men,  i^o  with  ihcm  to 
the  priest,  and  tell  iiini  that  you  will  t'lunish 
tho  necessary  sacritices,  —  will  sul)niit  with 
them  to  the  ceremony  of  purification,  jind  will 
remain  in  the  Temple,  in  the  Xaza  ,tes'  ( 'hani- 
ber,  for  a  week,  until  the  time  for  otferinii  the 
sacritices  and  shaving  the  heads.  Then  the 
peoi)le  will  believe  that  3^ou  are  as  careful  to 
obey  tiie  law  as  they  themselves  are,  and 
further  criticism  will  be   disarmed."  * 

All  this  Paul  was  willing  to  do,  in  order  to 
secure  peace  and  union.  The  charge  made 
agamst  him  was  wholly  false.  He  was  not 
there,  however,  to  defend  himself,  but  to  do 
the  best  thing  he  could  for  the  cause  of  the 
Master. 

The  week  was  almost  over,  and  Paul  had 
not  once  passed  out  of  the  sacred  enclosure. 
He  loved  that  grand  Temple,  although  it  was  in 
the  hands  of  bigots  and  villains.  Ananias,  the 
High  Priest,  was  one  of  the  very  worst  men  in 
Jerusalem.  He  had  made  himself  rich  by 
openly  robbing  the  inferior  priests  of  their 
tithes.     He  had  no  regard  for  human  life  when 

1  Compare  Acts  xxi.  20-24. 


Mr.  CL'.]         THE    AIJUEST    AT   .TEnrSALEM. 


^8: 


it  stood  in  his  wny ;  no  respect  for  virtue  ^vhen 
it  could  afford  hiui  i)lea.sure.  lie  was  a  glutton 
and  a  drunkard.  Altlioujjfh  High  Priest  for 
eleven  years,  he  was  murdered  at  last  by 
assassins,  who  found  hiui  eroueiiing  in  a  tilthy 
sewer  to  hide.  I*aul  knew  that,  from  this 
villain  down,  there  was  scareely  a  holy  man 
among  all  those  who  served  in  the  Temple. 
Still  he  loved  that  sacred  [)ile,  just  as  we  all 
love  the  places  with  which  memory  associates 
the  scenes  of  pleasant  past  years ;  jmd,  as  he 
walked  about  through  corridor  after  corridor, 
and  under  the  spacious  cloisters,  and  looked 
at  the  magnificent  gates,  and  up  to  the  Holy 
Place  which  stood  above  on  a  broad  marble 
platform,  overlooking  tlie  three  surrounding 
courts,  no  wonder  if  many  thoughts  of  the 
time  when  he  came  as  a  boy  to  the  school  of 
Gamaliel,  swept  through  his  mind. 

Some  of  those  Jews  who  lived  in  Ephesus, 
and  who  had  failed  in  their  attempt  in  that  city 
to  silence  Paul,  are  visiting  Jerusalem;  and, 
passing  through  the  court  of  the  women,  who 
should  they  see,  walking  I)ack  and  forth,  but  that 
Christian  Jew,  whom  tlicy  hated  with  all  the  bit- 
terness of  their  vengeful  hearts  !  "  ]Men  of  Israel, 
help !  help !  See,  here  is  that  contemptible 
heretic, — that  profane  preacher  of  lies!  Seize 
him!  Crush  him!   Kill   him!"     The  cry  flew 


f 


1 1 


ml 


■ii 


III  ! 


2S(i 


IJFR    OF    PAIL. 


[A.U.  M. 


from  nioutli  tonioutli,  cclioinir  across  the  Temple 
area  and  over  the  l)ri(liie,  until  the  wliole  eity 
was  in  an  uj)roar.  As  James  and  his  assistants 
had  said  they  woukl,  the  people  had  found  out 
that  Paul  was-i'  »Jerusalem.  There  was  a  tre- 
mendous rush.  Paul  was  seized  and  drairired 
out  of  the  sacred  enclosure  into  the  court  of 
the  (lentiles,  throuLdi  that  beautiful  irate,  hv  the 
side  of  which  Peter  had  he;ded  the  lame  beo- 
jrar ;  and  the  innnense  doors  that  always  stood 
open  from  dawn  to  sunset  were  closed. 

The  venerable  missi<)narv  was  wholly  at  the 
mercy  of  a  bloodthirsty  mob.  They  will  not 
wait  for  trial  or  defence.  No  Sanhedrim  nor 
majristrates  shall  come  between  them  and  their 
prey.  The  tiuirers  of  the  foremost  of  the  in- 
furiated gang  are  upon  the  Apostle's  throat. 
They  will  kill  him  at  last. 

But  what  comes  here  ?  There  was  a  castle, 
Antonia,  at  the  northwestern  corner  of  the 
Temple,  maiuied  by  a  Koman  garrison ;  for  in 
those  days  outbreaks  of  a  similar  character  to 
this  one  Avere  not  uncommon  among  the  fanati- 
cal and  inflammable  Jews.  Lysias,  the  com- 
mandant, informed  of  the  disturbance,  imme- 
diately summoned  a  force  of  officers  and  soldiers 
to  follow  him,  and  running  down  the  staircase 
forced  his  way  into  the  crowd.  The  clatter  of 
•-oldiers  imd  the  gleam  of  Roman  spoars  were  a 


^tood 


! 


( 


■1 


.I""! 


i 


'    '.   i4/'JHj4tamili'' 


Mt.H'J.]  TIIK    AUHEST    at   .7EKUSALEM. 


280 


quick  ivmi'idcr  to  llic  people  of  the  sljiu<^htcr 
those  same  spears  had  made  aiuonir  former 
rioters.  They  had  little  desire  to  repeat  the 
experience,  and  therefore  let  Paul  <xo.  They 
had  hcaton  him  cruelly.  When  Lvsias  saw  the 
ohjeet  of  the  people's  rage,  supi)o>iiiir  that  he 
was  an  Egyptian,  who,  a  short  time  before,  had 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  l)and  of  ruflians,  he 
conunanded  the  soldiers  to  hind  him  with  two 
chains.  Then  he  asked  who  he  was,  and  what 
he  had  done  ?  But  there  was  such  confusion  in 
the  court,  such  a  Babel  of  accusation,  that 
Lysias  ordered  Paul  into  the  castle. 

As  Paul  was  hurried  along  toward  the  castle- 
stairs  between  two  soldiers,  with  a  hand  chained 
to  each  of  them,  the  people  pressed  after  them, 
yelling  furiously  :  "Away  with  him  !  away  with 
him  !  "  When  they  reached  the  top  of  the  stairs, 
up  which  the  crowd  would  not  dare  to  come, 
Paul  said  to  Lysias  :  — 

"  Allow  me  to  say  a  word  to  you." 

"  What !  "  said  Lysias  with  surprise,  "  can 
you  speak  Greek?  I  thought  you  were  the 
Egyptian  robber !  " 

"No,  I  am  a  Jew;  a  native  of  Tarsus,  in 
Cilicia  —  a  citizen  of  no  mean  citv.  I  l)eseech 
you  let  me  speak  to  the  people."' 

Lysias  wondered,  no  doul)t,  what  this  man 
could  have  to  say  to  a  crowd  wl.ich  a  moment 


2i>;) 


LTFK   OF    P.M'L. 


f  A.t).  5ft. 


!.«'!<: 


■I.  i , 


i!;i'l 


before  had  tried  to  kill  him  :  but,  nevertheless, 
he  gave  him  permission  to  speak  ;  and,  that  the 
speaker  might  l>e  more  at  ease,  unfastened  the 
chain  from  one  of  his  wrists. 

Paul,  standing  at  the  hejid  of  the  stairs  before 
that  sea  of  up.  rned  faces,  understood  the  situa- 
tion perfectly.  He  knew  the  people,  and  he  re- 
membered his  Lord.  Never  for  a  moment  did 
Paul  plead  for  himself,  ile  would  plead  with 
these  his  enemies,  for  their  good,  and  for  the 
Master's  glory.  There  was  no  way,  however, 
by  which  he  could  secure  their  attention  so 
quickly  as  by  putting  himself  in  the  attitude  of 
defence.  Nor  was  there  anything  he  could  say 
to  them  so  likely  to  impress  them  for  good  as  the 
storv  of  his  own  conversion.  It  was  a  master- 
stroke  of  oratory,  to  be  calm  himself  just  then, 
and  able  to  control  and  command  the  attention 
of  that  impatient  tln'ong.  He  was  equal  to  the 
occasion,  tliousrh.  At  a  simple  s^esture  of  his 
outstretched  hand,  a  profound  silence  fell  upon 
the  people  ;  and,  dropping  the  Greek  language, 
in  which  he  had  just  been  talking  to  Lysias,  he 
addressed  his  auditors  in  their  nntive  tongue, 
Hebrew.  The  })eople  were  pleased  to  hear  their 
own  language  on  the  lips  of  an  orator,  —  it  was 
an  unusual  occurence, — and  listened  with  all  the 
more  atteation. 

"  Men,  Brethren,  and  Fathers,"  so  Paul  com- 


^T.  f.2.1  THE    ARREST    AT    .lEIllSALE.M, 


291 


menced.  Is  it  not  wondcrfui  how  courteous  he 
was  to  that  munlerous  crowd  ?  He  goes  on  to 
tell  them,  how,  l)eing  ;i  native  of  Tarsus,  he  re- 
ceived his  education  in  eTerusalem  from  Gamaliel, 
and  was  a  thorouirh  Jew,  hatinsj  the  Christians 
and  persecuting  them.  He  repeats,  in  most  vivid 
light,  the  story  of  his  conversion  on  the  way  to 
Damascus,  until  he  comes  to  the  Lord's  word  to 
him  l)v  Ananias.  "  Thou  shalt  he  his  witness 
unto  all  men,"  and  that  other  message  which  he 
heard  right  here  in  the  Temi)le,  after  he  had 
returned  to  Jerusalem,  "  Make  haste ;  leave 
Jerusalem,  for  they  will  not  receive  your  testi- 
mony concerning  me.  Go  !  for  I  will  send  fou 
far  away  to  the  Gentiles." 

To  this  point  they  listened:  Init  that  word, 
"Gentiles,"  was  too  much  for  a  Jew  to  endure. 
It  was  like  a  spark  to  their  explosive  passion. 
They  were  enraged  to  a  perfect  frenz}^  —  tear- 
ing their  clothes  and  throwing  them  u}X)n  the 
ground,  scraping  the  dust  from  the  pavement, 
and  flinmnji'  it  into  the  air,  and  screamini!:, 
"  Away  with  such  a  fellow  from  the  earth  !  He 
is  not  fit  to  live." 

Lysias  could  not  understand  Paul's  add^'css 
in  Hebrew ;  but,  seeing  the  rage  of  the  people, 
and  supposing  that  he  must  have  said  something 
particularly  offensive,  gave  orders  that  he  should 
be  put  to  the  rack  till  he  confessed  his  crime, 


\i 


[:| 


I  i^ '  i; 


(J 


11 11 


I 


I 


iii 


:     I 


'1 
I  I 

!  lillil 


i 


'■M 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  (k. 


whatever  it  might  be.  The  commandant  him- 
self withdrew,  and  left  the  prisorier  in  the  hands 
of  a  suboidinate  officer,  a  centurion.  Paul  was 
hrouiiht  to  the  torture-post ;  his  clothes  we^-e 
strip[)cd  off,  and  his  l)ack,  scarred  already  by 
the  beating  he  received  at  Philippi,  and  the 
stoning  at  Lystra,  was  laid  bare.  His  hands 
are  tied  down  to  the  stake,  and  in  this  stooping 
posture  he  is  ready  to  receive  the  stinging 
crack  of  the  scourge,  when  he  asserts  his  right 
of  Roman  citizenship. 

"  Does  the  law  permit  you  to  scourge  :i 
Roman  uncondemned  ?  " 

"  What !  "  cries  the  officer,  and  the  descend- 
ing  lash  drops  l)y  the  executioner's  side.  Hur- 
rying aAvay  to  Lysias,  the  centurion  said, — 

"  Look  out  what  you  are  doing !  This  man 
is  a  Roman." 

The  captain  himself  came  in,  and  looked 
sharply  at  the  prisoner. 

"Toll  me,  are  you  a  Roman?" 

"Yes,  I  am." 

"I,"  said  Lysias,  "paid  a  great  sum  of  money 
for  my  Roman  citizenship." 

"  But  I,"  replied  Paul, ''  am  a  Roman  by  birth." 

It  was  the  captain's  turn  now  to  be  afraid. 
He  had  carelessly  violated  the  law  ;  for,  accord- 
ing to  the  law,  he  had  no  right  to  scourge  a 
Roman  citizen. 


[A.D.  ft*.. 

it  him- 
hands 
ml  was 
were 
idy  by 
nd  the 
hands 
ooping 
tin"jino 
s  right 


urge   a 


escend- 
Hur- 

lis  man 

looked 


money 

birth." 

afraid. 

accord- 


}urge  a 


JET.  52.]  THE    AKKEST    AT   JERUSALEM. 


:1\)^ 


That  night  Paul  lay  in  the  castle.  The  next 
morning,  Lysias  —  in  order  that  he  might  find 
out  definitely  the  accusation  which  the  Jews 
made  against  the  prisoner — issued  an  order  to 
the  Iliiih  Priest  to  asseml)le  the  Sanhedrim. 
This  was  the  same  l)ody  of  Priests,  lUders,  and 
Scribes,  in  all  seventy-two,  before  which  Stephen 
made  his  nolde  l)ut  exasi)erating  defence.  The 
same  body  also  condenmed  the  Lord  fFesus  him- 
self, and  delivered  Ilim  to  Pilate  to  be  cruci- 
fied. It  was  the  same  body,  ])ut  not  conn)osed 
entirely  of  the  same  persons.  Paul  himself  had 
formerly  been  one  of  these  judges,  and  many 
of  them  knew  him  well. 

\Mien  the  Sanhedrim  was  ready,  Captain 
Lysias  released  his  prisoner,  and,  bringing  him 
down  under  guard,  placed  him  at  the  bar  for 
examination.  At  the  upper  end  of  the  long 
and  dimlvMiirhted  hall  sat  the  Hi^^h  Priest,  — 
the  contemptilde  Ananias, — while,  ranged  on 
either  side,  in  a  half-circle,  sat  on  one  side  the 
Pharisees  of  this  auofust  court,  and  on  the  other 
the  Sadducees.  Paul,  lookinir  with  a  searching; 
gaze  into  the  faces  of  his  judges,  commenced  to 
speak :  — 

"Brethren  :  I  have  lived  before  God  in  all  good 
conscience  to  this  verv  day." 

That  word,  "Brethren,"  from  a  prisoner,  with 
the  claim  that  he  had  lived  conscientiously,  made 


'l 

'  'T ., 

1 

1 

m 


LIFE    OF   PAITL. 


[A.t).  58. 


Aii.'iiiiji.s  angry,  and  ho  <xi\\v  orders  to  the  attend- 
ants wlio  stood  near  Paul  to  strike  him  on  the 
mouth.  Paul  heard  the  order,  and,  with  just 
and  fearless  indignation,  said,  — 

"(iod  shall  strike  you,  you  whitewashed  wall  I 
Do  you  sit  there  to  judge  me  by  the  law,  and 
give  orders  that  I  be  struck,  contrary  to  the 
law?" 

Paul  had  forijotten  that  it  was  the  real  High 
Priest  to  whom  he  was  speaking,  until  the  by- 
standers rebuked  him,  —  ""Do  you  revile  God's 
High  Priest?"  —  when  he  immediately  apolo- 
gized. "I  did  not  bear  in  mind,  brethren,  that 
he  w\as  the  High  Priest ;  for  it  is  written,  'Thou 
shall  not  speak  evil  of  the  ruler  of  thy 
people.'"^ 

This  incident,  however,  was  a  very  clear  indi- 
cation of  the  kind  of  justice  that  Paul  was  likely 
to  receive  before  this  court.  Instantly,  there- 
fore, he  determined  to  escape  from  that  injustice, 
upon  which,  if  he  threw  himself,  he  was  sure  to 
1)0  put  to  death.  He  took  advantage,  accord- 
ingly, of  the  old  feud  between  the  Pharisees 
and  Sadducees,  and,  asserting  the  fact  that  he 
himself  was  a  Pharisee,  claimed  the  sympathy 

1  "  Paul  admits  that  he  had  been  thrown  off  his  guard ;  the  in- 
sult had  touched  him  to  the  quick,  and  he  had  spoken  rashly.  But 
what  can  surpass  the  grace  with  which  he  recovered  his  self-pos- 
session, the  frankness  with  which  he  acknowledged  his  error  ?  "  — 
Hackett.  —  "Commeniary  on  Acts."  xxiii.  o. 


^r.  52.1 


THE    AlillEST    AT   JERUSALEM. 


205 


and  protection  of  that  side  of  the  court.  "I  am 
charged  with  l)elieving  in  and  preaching  the 
resuiTcction  of  the  dead."  This  was  the  favor- 
ite doctrine  of  the  Pharisees  ;  hut  the  Sadducecs 
despised  it.  The  two  parties  were  ready  at  any 
moment  to  take  up  arms  in  defence  of  their 
opposite  views.  Very  soon  the  two  sides  of  the 
council  were  in  a  clamor  of  debate  against  each 
other.  The  Pharisees  at  once  took  Paul  under 
their  protection,  saying,  "We  iind  no  evil  in 
this  man."  The  excitement  increased  ;  and,  when 
mob-law  was  likely  to  prevail  among  these  wicked 
dignitaries  of  Jerusalem,  Lysias,  fearing  that 
they  would  kill  the  prisoner,  sent  down  a  guard 
to  take  him  away  from  them,  and  to  bring  him 
back  into  the  castle. 

Paul  was  disheartened.  That  night,  as  he 
lay  on  the  stone  floor,  he  could  not  but  wonder 
what  another  day  might  bring.  But  the  Lord, 
Avho  knew  the  heart  of  his  servant,  had  not 
deserted  him.  In  the  darkness,  Jesus  stood  by 
the  prisoner's  side  and  said  :  "  Be  of  good  cheer, 
for  as  thou  hast  testitied  concerning  me  at  Jeru- 
salem, so  must  thou  l)ear  witness  at  Rome 
also."  This  was  encouraging.  Now  let  come 
to-morrow  what  may  come. 

Early  in  the  morning,  more  than  forty  of  the 
worst  Jews  in  Jerusalem,  cree})ing  around 
through  the  lanes  and  slums  of  the  city,  bound 


290. 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  58. 


themselves  together  with  a  terrible  oath,  that 
they  would  neither  eat  nor  drink  again  until 
their  dajrirers  had  been  bathed  in  Paul's  blood. 
These  men  went  directly  to  the  chief  priests 
and  the  elderly  men  of  influence,  and  told  them 
what  they  intended  to  do.  They  proposed  that 
the  Sanhedrim  should  request  Lysias  to  give  it 
another  opportunity  to  examine  the  Apostle  in 
its  council-room  ;  and,  when  Paul  was  on  his  way 
down  from  the  castle,  they  would  lie  in  wait 
near  the  stairs,  or  in  the  corridor,  and  unex- 
pectedly rush  out  upon  him  and  kill  him. 

Paul  had  a  nephew  in  Jerusalem,  who,  in 
some  way  or  other,  got  wind  of  this  bloody  con- 
spiracy, and  knowing  that  there  was  no  time  to 
be  lost,  went  to  the  castle,  and  chained  admis- 
sion  to  see  the  prisoner,  his  uncle.  As  soon  as 
Paul  heard  the  story,  he  beckoned  to  the  guard 
and  said,  "Take  this  young  man  to  Captain 
Lysias.  He  has  something  to  tell  him."  Lysias 
was  anxious  to  learn  anything  that  would  clenr 
up  this  extraordinary  case.  When  the  guard 
introduced  Paul's  nephew  as  one  whom  Paul 
had  sent  with  a  message,  the  captain  took  the 
young  man's  hand  in  his  and  drew  him  aside, 
where  the}'  could  talk  together  without  being 
overheard,  and  asked  him  what  it  was  he  had 
to  say.  The  young  man  lold  him  the  whole 
story,  -  —  how   the    conspirators    had   taken    an 


iA.D.  58. 


•Et.  ->'2.] 


THE    ARREST    AT    JERUSALEM. 


207 


oath  to  kill  his  uncle  ;  how  the  priests  had  fallen 
in  with  the  plot,  and  were  ready  to  help  it  on ; 
juid  how  they  were  waiting,  at  (hat  \ery  mo- 
ment, to  see  the  captain,  and  make  their  arrange- 
ments to  have  Paul  l)rou<::ht  down.  That  was 
enough  for  Lysias.  He  knew  what  desperate 
men  he  had  to  deal  with.  He  dismissed  his  in- 
formant, reminding  him  that  a  close  mouth,  just 
then,  was  of  the  utmost  necessity. 

At  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  all  the  pre- 
parations having  been  made  during  the  after- 
noon, while  the  shadows  were  deepening,  and 
the  darkness  was  settling  down  upon  country 
and  city,  the  rattling  of  horses'  hoofs  might 
have  been  heard  in  the  court  of  the  castle. 
Paul  was  to  be  sent  to  Ctvsarea  under  military 
escort.  He  was  a  Koman,  and  Koman  law 
would  protect  him  from  conspiracy  and  nmrdcr. 
Nearly  five  hundred  soldiers,  cavalry  and  infan- 
try, marched  out  at  the  lower  gate  of  the 
Castle  of  Antonia  that  night,  Thursday,  ^lay  25,^ 
A.D.  58,  with  Paul  the  missionary  mounted 
in  the  centre  of  the  trooj),  and  hurrying  out  of 
»Terusalem,  i)assed  rapidly  uj)  the  highway 
across  the  country  toward  the  Koman  capital. 
In  the  morning  they  reached  Antipatris,  where 
they  made  but  a  brief  halt.  Leaving  part  of 
the  soldiers  to  return  to  Jerusalem,  the  cavalry 

1  Lewin .  ii.  156. 


I 


i    • 


298 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A. I).  58. 


i   I 


pushed  on,  and  arrived  at  Ciosarea,  probably  that 
evening.  Paul  was  taken  directly  to  Felix, 
the  governor  of  the  province,  and  the  letter 
of  explanation  •  from  Captain  Lysias  was  pre- 
sented. 

Felix  read  the  letter,  and  then  inquired  what 
province  the  prisoner  was  from.  Learning  that 
he  was  a  native  of  Cilicia,  he  said  to  Paul:  "I 
will  hear  your  defence  when  your  accusers  also 
have  come,"  and  gave  orders  that  he  be  kept  in 
some  part  of  that  magnificent  Herodian  palace 
or  castle  in  which  the  governor  himself  re- 
sided. 

1  Acts  xxiii.  25-30. 


I 


»'*X.:: 


[A.D.  K8. 


ly  that 

Felix, 

letter 

,s  pre- 

d  what 
ng  that 
,ul:  "I 
rs  also 
kept  in 
palace 
ielf  re- 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

THE  PRISONER  IN  C/ESAREA. 

"  As  I  walked  through  the  wilderness  of  this  world,  I  li<,'htcd  on 
a  certain  place  where  was  a  den."  — John  HinyaN. 

"You  say  that  you  arc  my  judju'c.  .  .  You  iire  not  my  judge; 
you  are  my  enemy  !  I  came  from  (iod  :  leave  me  to  the  judgment 
of  Ilim  who  sent  me.  Beware  what  you  do;  for  I  am  in  truth  the 
envoy  of  Clod."  — Joan  op  Akc. 

T?ELIX,  in  who.sc  power  Paul  now  lay,  was 
-*-  governor  of  Jiulca,  and  resided  in  the 
palace  which  Herod  the  Great  had  built  at  Ca?- 
sareti.  Felix  was  only  another  of  the  worst  men 
that  ever  lived.  Oriirinallv  ho  was  one  of  two 
brothers  who  had  been  driven  down  from  the 
hills  of  Arcadia,  sold  in  the  market  of  Athens 
or  Corinth  to  the  highest  bidder,  and  taken  to 
Rome  to  serve  as  slaves  in  the  household  of 
the  Emperor  Claudius.  Here  the  passions  of 
the  boy  soon  developed  into  crime ;  but  it  was 
crime  which  was  applauded  in  Rome,  and  which 
made  him  a  favorite  among  the  shameless  Momen 
of  the  Imperial  court.  Step  by  step  he  ad- 
vanced in  favoritism  and  influence,  until  he  was 
made  a  freedman,  a  soldier,  an  officer,  and  at 

299 


11 


300 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  58. 


!    I    '■ 


:'ii 


last,  Governor  of  a  TJoman  province.  He  car- 
ried with  him,  however,  the  heart  of  a  slave  and 
the  unprincipled  lawlessness  of  a  criminal.  He 
had  been  six  years  Governor  of  Jiidea,  when 
Paul  was  broujiht  to  (V'sarca  a  prisoiKM', — 
years  which  he  had  stained  with  crimes  of  every 
shade  and  name.  This  is  the  man  into  whose 
hands  the  holy  Apostle  has  fallen. 

Twelve  days,  crowded  with  terrible  events, 
have  passed  since  Paul  left  Oesarea.  The 
friends  who  went  up  with  him  to  the  Feast, 
doubtless,  have  returned.  Philip  is  back  again 
with  his  family.  It  must  have  been  with  very 
grave  sorrow  that  they  heard  that  their  dear 
brother  Paul  was  in  their  city  again,  —  not  now 
their  guest,  but  a  prisoner  in  the  guard-room 
of  Felix's  palace.  Luke,  and  Aristarchus  too, 
very  probably,  came  from  Jerusalem  to  Ceesarea 
as  soon  as  they  could  after  Paul's  hurried  re- 
moval. 

The  priests  at  Jerusalem  would  soon  discover 
that  their  prey  had  escaped  ;  but  their  vengeance 
would  not  let  him  off  without  making  a  desper- 
ate effort  to  get  him  again  into  their  clutches. 
When,  therefore,  a  message  came  up  from  the 
governor,  that,  if  they  had  any  accusation  to 
make  against  the  prisoner,  they  should  come 
immediately  to  Caesarea  and  make  it,  they  were 
more  than  readv  to  jjo.      To  be  sure,  it  was 


I  I 


^.D.  58. 

!  cav- 

e  and 

He 

when 
or,  — 
t'vovy 
whoso 

svents. 
The 
Feast, 
aiTJiin 
h  very 
ir  dear 
ot  now 
d-room 
LIS  too, 
^sesarea 
■led  re- 

liscover 
io;eance 
desper- 
utehes. 
om  the 
ition  to 
d  come 
ey  were 
,  it  was 


.t:t.  5j.] 


THE    PRISONER    IN    C.KSAREA. 


301 


seventy  miles,  and  to  tliose  priests,  who  were  not 
accustomed  to  being  disturbed  at  all,  the  jour- 
ney could  only  ho  disagreeable  ;  but  Ananias, 
the  chief,  had  not  forgotten  the  stinging  words 
of  Paul,  "  Y'ou  whitewjished  sepulchre!"  lie 
hated,  with  all  the  venom  of  his  wicked  heart, 
the  man  who  had  thus  branded  him.  It  was  only 
five  davs,  therefore,  before  Paul  stood  in  th(5 
Judgment  Hall  in  the  presence  of  Governor 
Felix,  and  face  to  ftice  with  Ananias  and  the 
other  «Jews  from  Jerusalem.  They  had  brought 
with  them  a  lawyer,  Tertullus.  whom  they  had 
emjaffod  to  conduct  their  case  in  the  Roman 
court,  with  which  they  themselves  n'cre  not 
thoroughly  familiar. 

Tertullus  opened  the  case  by  preferring  the 
indictment  against  the  prisoner  in  three  counts, 
namely,  —  that  Paul  was  a  general  disturber  of 
the  peace  ;  that  he  was  a  ringleader  of  the  Naza- 
rene  sect ;  and  that  he  had  violated  the  holiness 
of  the  Temple.  After  drawing  out,  to  some 
length,  this  charge,  every  woi'd  of  which  was 
false,  and  havin£y  flattered  the  o-overnor,  and 
found  fault  with  T^ysias  for  hurrying  the  pris- 
oner away  from  Jerusalem  to  Gesarea,  he  ap- 
pealed to  Ananias  and  his  companions  to  confirm 
the  statement  which  he  had  made.  Thev  unani- 
mously  assented.  It  was  now  Paul's  turn  to 
speak.     A  nod  from  Felix  told  him  that,  if  he 


302 


LIFE    OF    I'AIL. 


[A. I).  (58. 


liail  anything  to  say  in  sclf-clc- fence,  ho  niiglit 
.say  on.  Paul  spoke  witli  his  aceiistomed  direct- 
ness and  accuracy.  Al'ter  expressing  iiis  satis- 
faction because  lie  was  appealing  to  such  a  judge 
as  Felix,  who  had  resided  in  the  country  long 
enouirh  to  1)e  lamiliar  with  its  customs  and  with 
the  character  of  his  accusers,  he  proceeded  di- 
rectly U)  refute,  jmint  hy  [mint,  the  charge  made 
by  Tertullus.     He  spoke  to  the  governor:  — 

"  ^lost  gladly  do  I  answer  to  this  charge 
before  your  Excellency,  because  I  am  well 
aware  of  ^our  long  residence  in  this  country  iis 
governor  and  judge. 

"  It  is  an  easy  matter  for  you  to  ascertain 
that  it  is  only  twelve  days  since  I  went  from  this 
city  up  to  Jerusalem  to  worship.  During  thai 
time  no  man  has  seen  me  disputing  with  anv 
person,  or  causing  any  disorderly  disturbance, 
either  in  the  Temple  or  in  the  synagogues,  or 
even  in  the  streets.  They  cannot  prove  before 
you  the  charges  they  bring  against  me. 

"This,  indeed,  I  acknowledge,  that  after  the 
wa}',  which  they  call  a  'sect,'  I  worship  the 
God  of  our  fathers,  —  at  the  same  time  believing 
everything  which  is  written  in  the  Law  and  in 
the  Prophets  ;  and  holding  a  hope  toward  God, 
which  these  also  hold,  that  there  will  be  a  res- 
II  rection  both  of  the  just  and  of  the  unjust.  In 
this  faith  I  endeavor  always  to  keep  a  conscience 


LI).  58. 


THK    I'KISONKi:    IN    (M.SAUEA. 


:m):\ 


night 
iroct- 
siitis- 
jiulge 
'  l{)ng 
[  with 
ccl  di- 
niiidc 


uhiirgo 
\  well 
iitry  as 


certain 
oni  this 
,o-  Ihav 
Ih  anv 
I'bancc, 
ucs,  or 
before 

fttr  the 
up  the 
ilieving 
and  in 
I'd  God, 
e  a  res- 
ult. In 
iscienc'C 


free  from  self-M('('u>»ati()n  in   my  dealings    with 
both  (iod  and  man. 

"  Now,  after  several  years  I  came  to  .Judea  to 
bring  a  eoUeetion  and  ollerings  to  my  people. 
I  WHS  presenting  my  ollerings  in  the  Temple, 
after  having  submitted  to  tlie  or«linanee  of 
purification,  witii  no  crowd  and  making  no 
tunudt,  when  some  Jews  IVom  Asia,  who 
ought  to  have;  heen  here  l)efore  you  themselves 
to  make  a^^cusation,  if  they  have  any  tiling  to 
say  against  me  !  Or,  let  th(^se  mcin  here  say 
detinitely  of  what  offence  they  found  me  guilty, 
when  I  stood  before  the  Sanhedrim,  unless  they 
consider  an  offence  that  one  sentence  which  I 
used  as  I  stood  there  among  them  crying  out : 
'  Concerninijr  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  I  am 
this  day  called  to  answer.'"' 

It  was  impossible  that  such  a  strong,  straight- 
forward, fearless  defence  should  not  make  a  deep 
impression  upon  Felix  even.  But  Felix  was 
not  a  true  Roman.  lie  was  only  an  Arcadian 
slave,  steeped  soft  in  indulgence.  lie  was  not 
accustomed  to  making  decisions  with  reference 
to  justice,  but  to  turning  all  cases  so  that  the 
result  would  l)e  most  favorable  to  himself.  He 
did  not  care  to  render  an  innnediate  decision 
against  the  Jews.  l>csides,  he  fancied  that,  if 
he  held  Paul  as  a  prisoner,  Paul's  friends  might 

1  Acts  xxiv.  10-21. 


304 


LTFK   OF   PAUL. 


[A.n.  ns. 


make  up  a  generous  ransom  for  his  release.  He 
therefore  gave  no  verdict,  but  postponed  the 
case  indefinitely,  saying  that  he  would  settle  the 
matter  when  Captain  Lysias  should  come  down. 
Tertullus,  Ananias,  and  his  followers  swept  out 
of  the  Judgment  Hall,  concealing  their  disap- 
pointment under  a  haughty  bearing  :  while  Paul, 
with  a  heavy  heart,  though  cheered  by  faith  in 
his  Lord,  heard  the  indejimte  j^ostponement  of 
the  decision.  Who  could  tell  how  long  he 
misfht  be  obli«>:ed  to  wait  ?  The  Governor  ":ave 
ordei's  that  he  was  to  be  held  a  prisoner,  though 
with  certain  liberties  inside  the  castle,  — anionij 
which  was  the  privilege  of  being  visited  by  his 
acquaintances  and  friends. 

It  was  not  many  days  before  another  signifi- 
cant incident  occurred.  Felix  had  talked  with 
his  wife,  Drusilla,  about  the  remarkable  Jew, 
Paul.  She,  ))eing  a  Jewess,  thought  she  would 
like  to  see  and  hear  him  speak.  Drusilla  was 
a  very  beautiful  woman,  about  twenty  years  of 
age.  She  was  the  sister  of  Agri})pa,  king  of 
Trachonitis,  and  had  lived  a  verv  reckless  and 
wicked  life,  —  her  last  act  of  crime  being  the 
desertion  of  her  lawful  husband,  the  king  of 
Emesa,  to  ])ecome  the  paramour  of  Felix.  It  is 
very  remarkable  that  these  two  dissolute  people 
should  want  to  hear  Paul  discourse  on  t^? 
Christian  faith.     It  may  have  been  from  mere 


Mr.  r,'2.] 


THE    PRISONER    IN   C^KSAREA. 


305 


^ave 


curiosity  to  see  one  whose  name  was  fainiliar  to 
every  Jew,  or,  possibh',  from  a  desire  for  some 
new  anmsement,  which  they  thouufiit  they  misfht 
derive  from  listeninsr  to  one  who  had  travelled 
far,  and  who  was  also  master  of  the  arts  of  elo- 
quence. 

Paul  liad  addressed  many  audiences ;  but 
never  before  had  he  been  asked  to  in'cach  his 
Gospel  to  such  an  audience  as  the  one  before 
him.  What  should  the  prisoner  say?  How 
should  he  carry  himself  before  the  Governor  of 
Judea  and  his  wife  ?  They  were  rich.  He  was 
poor.  They  were  dressed  regally.  He  was 
clad  in  the  coarsest  cloth.  They  were  master 
and  mistress  of  the  palace.  He  was  a  prisoner, 
with  a  chain  at  his  wrist.  The}'  were  the  favor- 
ites of  the  emperor.  He  had  no  friends  of 
inlluence.  ^  Will  he  not  temper  his  message  to 
the  occ{;^ion?  No,  no!  The  ambassador  of 
the  King  of  kings  stands  before  those  two  guilty 
wretches,  and  at  once  recognizes  the  true  rela- 
ti\e  position  of  himself  and  them.  They  may 
have  expected  compliments  or  sentimentalism, 
or  at  most  an  abstract  statement ;  but  Paul 
thrusts  the  shaft  of  truth  to  their  very  hearts. 
He  does  not  even  say  anything  about  faith  here, 
so  far  as  we  know.  Felix  and  Drusilla  needed 
far  different  treatment.  Righteousness,  tem- 
perance, and  judgment  to  come,  —  these  were 


B06 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  60. 


the  high  themes,  awful  to  this  man  and  woman, 
upon  which  Paul  chose  to  discourse.  Felix 
shook  like  an  aspeu  under  the  sharp  torrent 
of  rebuke,  and  with  white  and  trem})ling  lips  he 
dismissed  the  preacher  :  "  Go,  leave  me  for  the 
present.  Some  other  time,  when  it  is  more 
convenient,  I  will  send  for  you  again." 

The  weary  round  of  days  and  long,  long 
months  ran  on.  Many  a  night  Paul  must  have 
hoped  that  the  morrow  would  bring  some  change, 
—  if  not  release,  at  least  a  fair  trial.  Why  does 
not  Lysias  come  down  from  Jerusalem?  Why 
does  not  Felix  give  attention  to  this  case  ?  But 
Felix  does  nothing,  except  occasionally  to  send 
for  Paul  to  come  and  talk  with  him,  hoping 
that  the  Apostle,  wearied  out  with  the  long 
imprisonment,  will  offer  a  bribe  for  freedom. 
Paul  has  no  intention  of  purchasing  liberty  by 
such  an  indirect  method.  He  demands  only 
justice.  It  is  a  wearing  life.  Whenever  he 
moves,  the  chain  which  fastens  his  own  right 
hand  to  the  left  hand  of  his  guard  rattles  be- 
side him.  His  eyes  are  weary  with  the  same 
bare  stone  walls,  and  the  coarse,  sensual  faces 
of  the  common  soldiery.  His  ears  are  tired  of 
the  ril)ald  jest  and  blasphemy.  He  cannot  even 
go  away  alone  to  pray.  We  do  not  know  what 
Paul's  occupation  was  during  these  two  years 
of  prison-life ;  but  we  feel  sure  that,  if  there 


Mt.  54.] 


THE    PRISONER    IN    CiESAREA. 


307 


long 


does 

Why 

But 

send 


'6 

long 


was  anything  he  could  do  for  the  good  of  the 
churches  he  had  founded,  or  for  the  soldiers 
who  guarded  him,  or  for  the  wicked  occupants 
of  the  palace,  in  a  part  of  which  he  was  con- 
fined, he  did  not  fail  to  do  it. 

One  day,  about  two  years  after  Paul  was 
])rought  a  prisoner  to  Felix,  there  was  a  blood}' 
riot  in  the  streets  of  Cttsarea.  A  collision  oc- 
curred between  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  resi- 
dents of  the  city.  They  attacked  each  other 
with  brutal  vengeance,  each  hating  the  other 
with  old  and  relentless  hate.  The  screams  of 
the  wounded  and  the  groans  of  the  dying  may 
have  I)een  heard  by  Paul  in  his  prison.  It  was, 
of  course,  the  duty  of  the  governor  to  quell 
such  a  riot ;  but  histeud,  Felix  let  loose  his 
soldiers  upon  the  Jews,  with  orders  t(  enter 
and  pillage  their  houses.  This  crowning  act 
of  cruel  injustice  aroused  the  Jews  throughout 
the  province ;  and  a  charge  was  made  against 
the  governor,  which  occasioned  his  speedy  re- 
moval to  Rome  to  answer  for  the  manner  in 
which  he  had  discharged  the  duties  of  his  office. 
Felix  therefore  leftOesarea  ;  but  before  he  went, 
in  order,  if  possible,  to  conciliate  the  tTews,  he 
announced  that  he  would  not  release  Paul  (as, 
in  all  justice,  he  ought  to  have  done),  but  that 
he  would  leave  him  as  a  state  criminal,  to  take 
his  chances  under  the  new  administration. 


:^o^ 


LIFE   OF    I'AUL. 


[A.D.60. 


Pori'ius  Festus  succeodiHl  lo  tho  governor- 
ship of  Judeji.  Ho  hud  scarcely  landed  with  his 
suite  at  the  capital,  when  he  went  up  to  Jerusa- 
lem to  visit  that  city.  Among  the  first  things 
that  occurred  after  his  arrival  there  was  the 
l)rcsontation  to  him,  hy  the  chief  priest  and  the 
leaders  of  the  Jews,  of  the  old  charges  against 
the  i)risoner  at  Ciesarea.  Paul  had  not  lost  his 
influence,  although  buried  from  public  view. 
Xor  was  he  forgotten.  Dear  friends  remembered 
him,  and  his  enemies  relaxed  neither  their  vigi- 
lance nor  the  intensity  of  their  hate.  They 
were  still  bent  on  killing*  him.  With  this  ob- 
ject  in  view,  they  requested  the  new  governor 
to  send  him  up  to  Jerusalem  for  trial  again  ])e- 
f(^re  the  Sanhedrim.  Festus,  however,  assured 
them  that  Paul  should  be  kept  at  Ca^sarea ; 
but  that  in  a  few  days  he  was  going  back 
to  the  capital,  and  would  then  gladly  attend  to 
their  charges,  if  they  would  come  with  him 
themselves  and  state  them  there.  Eight  or  ten 
days  later,  Festus  returned  to  Coesarea ;  and  on 
the  day  following  his  return  he  opened  the  court, 
took  his  seat  as  judge,  gave  command  that  the 
])risoner  be  brought  in,  and  notified  the  Jews 
of  his  readiness  to  listen  to  them.  Their  com- 
plaints were  numerous  and  severe ;  but  they 
were  without  proof.  Paul  spoke  for  himself. 
His  words  were  few,  and  to  the  point,  —  a 
straightforward  denial :  — 


[A.n.60. 

ernor- 
ith  his 
orusa- 
thiii<rs 
as  the 
nd  the 
igainst 
ost  his 
view, 
nbered 
r  vigi- 
They 
his  ob- 
ivernor 
ain  l)c- 
issured 
3sarea ; 
^  back 
end  to 
h    him 
or  ten 
md  on 
court, 
fit  the 
Jews 
*  com- 
t  they 
mself. 
t,  —  a 


.1<:t  r,4.]  THE    PRISON RH    IX    f'/FSAREA. 


300 


"  I  have  committed  no  offence  at  all,  either 
against  the  law  of  the  Jews  or  against  the 
Temple  or  against  Cjiesar." 

Festus  cared  little  for  Paul,  and  wished  to 
favor  the  Jews  if  he  could  do  so  without  violat- 
ing the  law.     He  therefore  asked  Paul,  if  he 
were  willing  to  go  to  Jerusalem  for  trial.  Paul's  * 
reply  was  decided  :  — 

"I  am  before  Cii^sar's  tribunal,  where  a  verdict 
ought  to  be  given.  I  have  done  no  wrong  to 
the  Jews,  as  you  perceive.  If  I  am  guilty  of  any 
unlawful  conduct  in  the  past,  or  have  committed 
any  capital  crime,  I  do  not  beg  off  from  dying ; 
but  if  there  are  no  such  things  as  these  accuse 
me  of,  no  one  may  turn  me  over  to  them.  / 
apj)€al  unto  Ccvsarf'^ 

This  was  the  turning-point  in  Paul's  prison- 
life  in  Ctesarea.  From  this  moment  his  back  is 
turned  upon  Jerusalem,  and  his  face  is  looking 
toward  Rome.  Festus  delaved  the  court  a  mo- 
ment  to  consult  with  his  legal  advisers  in  regard 
to  the  prisoner's  right  to  apj)eal  from  his  deci- 
sion to  that  of  the  supreme  authority  at  Rome. 
Then,  turninij:  to  Paul,  he  cave  his  decision  in 
the  brief,  abrupt  form  of  the  law ;  "  To  Coesar 
you  appeal.     Unto  Caesar  you  shall  go." 

The  court  is  adjourned  :  but  with  what  new 
expectations  does  Paul  follow  his  guard  back  to 
his  prison  quarters  !     At  last  going  to  Rome  I 


i 


310 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  60. 


i       I 


Not,  however,  a  free  man,  at  his  own  charges 
and  independent,  to  preach  to  the  citizens  of 
Rome  "the  unsearchal)le  riches,"  but  a  pris- 
oner, with  a  chain,  held  fast  in  the  meshes  of 
the  law  to  which  he  had  been  unjustly  com- 
mitted, but  from  which  he  could  not,  easily 
escape.  There  were  other  prisoners  to  be  sent 
to  Rome.  All  was  not  ready  for  the  ship  to 
sail.  Paul  must  wait  still  longer;  but  he  had 
learned  the  o;race  of  waitin*?.  The  Lord  often 
has  work  for  those  to  do  who  wait. 

After  certain  days,  Agrippa,  the  Jew,  king 
of  Trachonitis,  and  his  sister,  the  beautiful  Ber- 
nice,  came  down  to  Ciesarea  to  pay  an  official 
visit  of  welcome  to  the  new  governor.  They 
had  often  been  here  in  Felix's  time  on  social 
visits,  for  Felix  and  Agrippa  were  l)rothers-in- 
law.  During  tliis  visit  Festus  talked  with 
Agrippa  about  the  remarkable  prisoner  whom 
he  was  o-oinsf  to  send  to  Rome.  He  told  him 
how  he  found  him  there  as  Felix  had  left  him; 
how  the  Jews  renewed  their  accusations  against 
him,  but  without  any  evidence  of  crime, — only 
charofino^  him  with  certain  heresies,  and  with 
preaching  about  Jesus,  who  was  dead  ;  but  who, 
they  said,  Paul  declared  was  alive.  He  told  him 
also  how,  being  in  doubt  himself  about  these 
religious  questions,  he  asked  Paul  if  he  would 
not  go  to  Jerusalem  for  trial ;  but  that  Paul 


JET.  ,-)«.] 


THE    PRISONER    IN    C/ESAREA. 


311 


thereupon  appealed  to  Ca?sar.  Agrippa  was 
interested.  lie  had  prol)ably  heard  ahout  Paul 
before,  and  now  said  that  he  would  like  to  hear 
the  man  himself.  "Very  well,"  said  Festus ; 
"to-morrow  you  shall  hear  him." 

''  To-morrow  "  was  a  remarkable  day.  Festus 
knew  how  fond  Agrippa  and  Bernice  were  of 
ostentatious  display.  He  arranged,  according- 
ly, that  there  should  be  a  ])rilliant  assemblage. 
The  Praitorian  Hall  was  prepared.  The  chief 
officers  of  the  army  were  ordered  to  ))e  in  at- 
tendance. The  most  fashionable  and  wealthy 
citizens  of  Ciesarea  were  invited.  Agrippa, 
undoubtedly,  was  arrayed  in  the  purple  robes 
which  were  the  syml^ol  of  his  kingly  rank,  and 
Bernice  sparkled  with  jewels.  He  wore  a 
crown,  and  her  forehead,  too,  was  pressed  with 
the  golden  circlet,  for  the  pleasure  of  wearing 
which  she  had  thrown  away  the  virtues  of  sis- 
terhood, and  nad  consented  to  be  her  brother's 
wife.  Their  attendants  were  numerous,  and 
gorgeously  dressed.  When  this  magnificent 
company  was  seated,  at  a  gesture  from  Festus, 
there  came  in  "  the  poor,  worn,  shackled  pris- 
oner, pale  with  sickness  and  long  imprison- 
ment." ^ 

Every  eye  was  centred  upon  the  prisoner. 
It  was  to  hear  him  plead  his  own  cause,  as  well 

1  Farrar:  "  St.  Paul"  ll.  354. 


312 


LIFE    OF    PAUL. 


[A.D.  60. 


)  !v      'i 


i  I',  ,  ,t , 


'I  I 


i  t- 


•i!^ 


1 


l:i 


as  to  pay  court  to  the  king,  that  all  these  cligni- 
taries  had  assoinblcd.  Fcstus  introduced  the 
proceedings  and  the  prisoner:  "  King  Agrippa 
and  all  who  are  here  present :  You  see  this  man, 
who  all  the  Jews  say  ought  not  to  live.  I  have 
not  been  al)le  to  find  that  he  has  committed  any 
crime  deserving  death ;  but,  since  he  has  ap- 
pealed unto  CoBsar,  T  have  decided  to  send  him. 
Still,  I  have  nothing  definite  to  write  to  the 
Emperor  in  regard  to  him.  It  was  on  this  ac- 
count, therefore,  that  I  have  summoned  him  to 
appear  before  you,  —  especially  before  you.  King 
Agrippa,  that,  after  an  examination,  I  might  have 
something  to  write ;  for  it  seems  to  me  unrea- 
sonable to  send  a  prisoner  without  stating  the 
charges  preferred  against  him."  Festus  fin- 
ished speaking,  and  Agrippa,  without  any  addi- 
tional words,  told  Paul  that  he  might  now  speak 
for  himself.  This  would  have  been  a  very  gra- 
cious act  if  Paul  had  been  an  ordinary  criminal ; 
but  as  it  was,  the  graciousness  was  all  on  Paul's 
part.  Though  worn  and  impatient  with  prison- 
life  and  Ions:  delay ;  thouiifh  brouijht  here  into 
this  assemblage  to  gratify  the  curiosity  of  this 
low-lived  king,  w^ho  Avas  a  stranger,  both  by 
birth  and  position,  to  virtue  and  honor  ;  though 
surrounded  by  the  glitter  and  i)omp  of  riches 
and  power,  and  invited  to  "  speak  for  himself," — 
yet  he  does  not  forget  that  he  is  an  Apostle  of 


[A.D.  60. 

!  digni- 
•ed  the 
Lgrippa 
is  man, 

I  have 
:ed  any 
has  ap- 
[id  him. 

to  tho 
this  ac- 
him  to 
UjKing 
Tht  have 
!  unrea- 
;ing  the 
tus   lin- 
ly  addi- 
w  speak 
ery  gra- 
riminal ; 
n  Paul's 
1  prison- 
ore  into 
\[  of  this 
both  by 

though 
if  riches 
iself,"— 
lostle  of 


Mi.  r.1.1 


TTli:    nilSONER    IN    r.ESAREA. 


at  3 


the  Lord  Jesus,  and  that  he  has  something  to 
say  to  this  company  of  men  and  women,  of 
greater  importance  than  any  mere  self-defence, 
lie  do<?s  defend  himself;  but  at  the  same  time 
he  speaks  of  his  Lord  and  Saviour.  After  ex- 
pressing his  pleasure  at  being  permitted  to  speak 
before  the  king, — especially  because,  the  king 
himself  being  a  Jew,  could  understand  liis  posi- 
tion, he  proceeded  to  give  a  detailed  story  of  his 
life ;  of  his  education  as  a  Pharisee  and  his 
zealous  persecution  of  the  Christians ;  of  his 
conversion  and  sul)scqucnt  ministry  of  preach- 
ing to  the  Gentiles  that  they  ought  to  repent 
and  turn  to  God.  "For  these  causes,"  he  con- 
tinued, "the  Jews  seized  me  in  the  Temple,  and 
tried  to  kill  me.  But  God  being  my  helper,  I 
still  live,  as  a  witness  to  small  and  great,  saying 
nothing  but  what  Moses  and  the  Prophets  fore- 
told,—  namely,  that  Christ  should  suffer;  that 
He  should  ])e  the  iirst  to  rise  from  the  dead  ;  and 
that  lie  should  reveal  light  to  the  people,  even 
to  the  Gentiles." 

All  listened  attentively  until  Paul  spoke  of 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  This  seemed  absurd 
and  foolish;  and  Festus,  interrupting  the  im- 
petuous stream  of  the  Apostle's  eloquence,  ex- 
claimed, "You  arc  insane,  Paul  I  You  have 
studied  so  nuicli  tliat  it  has  turned  vour  head." 

"I  am   not   insane,    most  no])le   Festus,   but 


■ 


if 


314 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  60. 


m 


:!    I 


speak  words  of  truth  and  sol)orncss.  The  king 
knows  about  these  matters.  Therefore  I  speak 
freely  in  his  presence ;  for  I  am  sure  that  none 
of  these  things  are  unknown  to  hiin.  This 
thing  was  not  done  in  a  corner.  KingAgrippa, 
do  you  believe  the  Prophets  ?  I  know  that  you 
believe  them." 

This  direct  appeal  to  Agrippa  surprised  him. 
At  any  other  time  he  would  have  admitted  at 
once  that  he  believed  the  Prophets ;  but  he 
feared  what  Paul's  next  (luestion  might  be.  If 
he  admitted  that  he  believed  the  Prophets,  the 
prisoner's  relentless  logic  might  insist  that  the 
Prophets  then  pointed  directly  to  Christ.  He 
had  wit  enough  to  evade  the  whole  matter  with 
an  aml)iguous  jest.  "  A  little  more,  and  you 
Avill  persuade  me  to  become  a  Christian  !  "  No 
wonder  if  a  half-suppressed  laugh  ran  over  the 
assem1)ly  of  gay  infidels  and  hard-headed  aris- 
tocrats at  the  notion  of  this  Agrippa  becoming 
a  Christian,  like  the  prisoner  before  them.  But, 
as  Paul  was  courteous  in  his  reply  to  Festus, 
so  is  he  the  true  man,  earnest  yet  undisturbed, 
in  what  he  says  to  Agrippa.  He  took  the 
king's  word  at  its  best,  and  said :  — 

"  Ah !  I  could  pray  to  God  that  sooner  or 
later,  not  only  you,  but  also  all  these  who  hear 
me  to-day,  wore  such  as  I  am,  except"  —  and 
he  lifted,  as  high  as  he  could,  the  arm  which 


■ 


\.D.  60. 

king 
speak 

none 

This 
I'ippa, 
it  you 

[  liim. 
ted  at 
lut  he 
e.     If 
ts,  the 
lat  the 
D.     He 
»r  with 
id  you 
No 
^cr  the 
aris- 
coming 
But, 
^estiis, 
turbed, 
ok    the 


JET.  54.] 


THE    nilSONER    AT   CifiSAREA. 


315 


was  fastened  to  the  ever-present  soldier — "ex- 
cept these  chains." 

Perhaps  some  hearts  were  touched  at  such 
a  pathetic  scene, — a  courteous  okl  man,  a  pris- 
oner with  a  cliaiii,  so  manifestly  grateful  to  God 
that  ho  is  a  Christian,  so  earnestly  trying  to 
persuade  the  king,  not  to  intercede  in  his  behalf 
with  the  emperor,  but  to  seek  for  himself,  on 
account  of  his  many  sins,  the  intercession  of 
the  Lord  Jesus. 

The  assembly  broke  up,  and,  as  Festus  and 
Agrippa  talked  the  matter  over  in  private,  they 
were  agreed  that  Paul  was  guilty  of  no  capital 
crime  ;  and  Agrippa  even  said  that,  if  Paul  had 
not  already  appealed  to  Caesar,  he  might  be  set 
at  liberty.  It  was  too  late,  however;  for  the 
governor's  verdict  had  already  been  given : 
"  Unto  Caesar  you  shall  go." 


mer  or 
10  hear 
—  and 
which 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


THE  VOYAGE  AND  SHIPWRECK. 

"  Go  ns  some  ship,  outworn  and  overladen, 
Strains  for  the  iiarbor  where  her  sails  are  furled." 

F   W.  H.  Myers. 

"  Thoujrh  the  strained  mast  should  quiver  as  a  reed, 
And  the  rent  canvas,  flutterin<,',  strew  the  gale, 
Still  must  I  on ;  for  I  am  as  a  weed, 
Flung  from  the  rock,  on  ocean's  foam  to  sail 
Where  'cr  the  surge  may  sweep,  the  tempests'  breath 
prevail."  —  Byron. 

THE  summer  winds  from  the  sea  blew  out  of 
the  west  straight  into  the  harbor  of  Ceesa- 
rea.  They  were  cooling  and  refreshing  to  the 
heated  city.  Paul  was  tired  of  the  long  wait- 
ing. We  can  imajyine  the  feelino-  of  relief  which 
he  experienced,  when  at  last  he  heard  that 
there  was  a  vessel  ready  to  take  him  and  the 
other  prisoners  who  were  to  go  to  Rome  away 
from  the  bloody  walls  of  the  prison  in  the  Hero- 
dian  palace. 

The  ship  belonged  in  Adramyttium,  away  up 

on  the  east  side  of  the  JEscean  sea,  a  little  south 

of  Troas.     She  was  on  her  homeward  voyage, 

and  could  take  passengers  some  distance  on  their 

316 


JE.I.  W.] 


THE    VOYAUK    AND    snil'WKECK. 


317 


wav  toward  Rome.     Orders  haviuii-  been  "ivc 


n 


RS. 


breath 

)Ut  of 

Csesa- 
o  the 
wait- 

which 
that 

nd  the 
away 
Hero- 

ivay  up 
!  south 
oyage, 
wow  their 


for  th 


il  of  th 


tor  the  reiuov.il  ol  llie  prisoners,  tlie}'  are  taken 
on  l)oard.  An  oflieer  by  the  name  of  .lulius,  a 
centurion  of  Auniistus'  hand,'  witli  a  suflieient 
body  of  soldiers,  is  put  in  eharire  of  this  com- 
pany of  captives,  to  be  responsil)k;  for  their  safe 
delivery  in  the  "  Kternal  Cit}."'  This  .Iidius  was 
a  man  of  marked  kin(biess  and  courtesy.  The 
prisoners  fared  as  well  at  his  hands  as  they 
could  well  exi)e(t  to.  His  treatment  of  Paul 
at  least  was  considerate. 

Aristarchus,  the  disciple  who  came  with  Paul 
from  Thessalonica  to  Judea  more  than  two  years 
before,  is  still  with  him,  probably  a  prisoner  like 
his  great  teacher  and  friend.  Luke,  too,  — the 
physician  and  the  writer  of  the  story  of  Paul's 
life, — accompanies  him  on  the  voyage. 

Weijrhinff  anchor  from  Ciesarea  the  well-laden 
ship  takes  her  course  northward  along  the  Phoe- 
nician coast,  under  the  promontory  of  Carmel, 
past  Ptolemais  and  Tyre,  until  her  anchors  are 
dropped  again  into  the  clear,  blue  waters  before 
the  busy  port  of  Sidon.  Here  she  touched^ 
possibly  to  discharge  part  of  her  cargo.  Paul 
was  permitted  to  go  ashore  "to  refresh  himself." 
It  is  quite  probable  that  the  miserable  prison- 

1  "It  has  been  supposed  that  this  band  was  a  company  of  the 
praetoriaii  pnard,  which  may  liavo  l)pcn  recently  scut  as  an  escort 
with  A<jiippa  from  Rome,  ami  wa«  now  under  orders  to  return."  — 
Mbrivale  :  "  St.  Paul  ut  Rome,"  p.  49. 


. 


,  i   .  'V-  «-i»li  , 


3*^'      fl 


M 


tw 


[ '  . 


;m8 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  60. 


life  of  the  last  two  years,  and  the  violent  change 
from  that  to  the  hold  of  a  ship,  rolling  along 
the  coast  under  a  westorl^^  wind,  produced  their 
naturally  bad  results  upon  him.  There  were 
Christians  at  Sidon,  however,  who  would  be 
only  too  glad  to  do  anything  for  the  relief  of 
this  servant  of  God. 

It  was  only  for  a  few  hours,  though.  Again 
they  Jire  all  aboard,  and  this  time  the  prow  is 
turned  toAvard  the  open  sea.  If  you  will  look 
at  the  map,  you  will  notice  that  the  most  direct 
course  from  Sidon  to  the  ^Egean,  to  which  this 
ship  of  Adramyttium  was  going,  lies  just  south 
of  Cyprus.  Luke  tells  us,  however,'  that  "the 
winds  were  contrary."  Now  we  know  that  the 
prevailing  wind  in  the  Mediterranean  at  this 
season  of  the  year  is  from  the  northwest,  which 
would  have  been  tdmost  dead  ahead.  The 
straighter  course,  therefore,  on  this  account  was 
to  be  avoidod.  Besides,  by  sailing  northward 
to  the  east  of  Cyprus,  the  vessel  would  soon 
strike,  upon  the  southern  shore  of  Asia  Minor, 
the  current  which  runs  strongly  westward.  Ac- 
cordingly, we  see  them  making  their  way  through 
the  sea  of  Cilicia  and  Pamphylia,  between 
Cyprus  and  the  mainland  on  the  north,  and 
running  up  to  I\Iyra. 

Here  they  left  the  ship.     Whether  it  was  the 

1  Acts  xxvii.  4. 


A'A'.  M.] 


THE    VOYAGE    AND    SHIPWKECK. 


Mi) 


was 


the 


on'o^iii.'il  intention  of  Julius  to  have  jione  all  tlie 
way  to  Adraniyttiuni,  and  from  there  crossing 
to  Xeapolis,  to  have  made  the  journey  with  his 
prisoners  hy  land  through  Macedonia,  we  are 
not  informed.  At  Myra  there  was  a  grain- 
vessel  from  Kgypt  on  her  way  to  Italy.  She  had 
prol;a!)ly  been  driven  into  this  port  under  stress 
of  weather ;  but  she  was  now  ready  to  continue 
her  voyage.  Julius  thought  this  a  fortunate 
opportunity,  and  engaged  passage  for  his  whole 
troop  of  prisoner.^  and  guards. 

The  grain-ships  which  ran  from  Alexandria  to 
the  ports  of  Italy  were  the  largest  vessels  at 
that  time.  In  addition  to  her  cargo,  this  vessel 
could  accommodate  at  least  two  hundred  and 
seventy-six  persons.^  She  was,  however,  m  all 
proba])ility,  but  a  clumsy  tub  in  comparison 
with  the  beautiful  ships  of  our  time.  Naviga- 
tion, too,  was  an  unknown  science  in  those  days. 
The  sailor  had  neither  charts  nor  compass.  If 
the  day  was  fine  and  the  night  clear,  and  the 
wind  steady  and  fair,  he  could  pick  his  way 
across  the  ^Icditerranean  ;  but  if  the  sun  were 
hid  or  the  winds  unfavorable,  he  was  safe  only 
when  in  sight  of  land. 

Whatever  comforts  the  other  passengers  may 
have  enjoyed  on  shipboard,  we  are  sure  that  the 
prisoners  would  be  stowed  away  in  the   most 

1  Acts  xxvii.  37. 


1 


820 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  60. 


wrelt'lied  hole  unoccui)iod  by  the  cargo  or  the 
crew.  We  have  seen  Ptiul  in  no  such  unpleasant 
surroundings  as  these,  although  we  have  visited 
him  in  the  dungeon  at  Philippi  and  at  the  whip- 
ping-post in  the  castle  Antonia.  The  fetid  hold 
of  this  grain-ship,  tuml)ling  Ibv  months  through 
the  cold,  storm-lashed  billows  of  the  ^Nlediterra- 
nean ;  the  vulgarity  and  profanity  of  the  crimi- 
nals with  whom  he  is  lierded  ;  the  ever-present 
soldier,  and  the  chain  wliicli  clanks  at  every 
movement  from  the  i)risoner's  wrist, —  must  have 
been  very  hard  for  the  sensitive  nature  of  such 
a  man  as  Paul.  But  we  can  readily  believe 
that  even  in  these  circumstances  he  thought  less 
about  himself  than  about  the  condition,  physical 
and  si)iritual,  of  those  around  him.  His  greatest 
anxiety  was,  not  his  own  comfort,  nor  whether 
the  ship  should  go  to  the  bottom,  but  what  waa 
to  become  of  the  churches  he  had  planted,  and 
who,  if  he  failed,  would  preach  the  Gospel  in 
Rome. 

Leaving  ^lyra,  they  beat  along  under  the 
lee  of  the  shore  against  a  strong;  head-wind 
nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the  island  of 
Cnidus.  It  would  seem  as  if  the  captain  in- 
tended to  make  his  way  across  the  mouth  of 
the  ^Egean  to  the  southern  extremity  of  Greece  ; 
but  the  wind,  still  blowing  from  the  northwest 
with  great  severity,  he  did  not  dare  to  venture 


I  HI 


XT.5i.]         THE    VOYAGE    AND    SHIPWRECK. 


321 


•9 


out  among  the  small  islands  and  reefs  which,  he 
knew  very  well,  it  would  be  almost  impossible 
to  escape.  Finding  no  safe  anchorage,  there- 
fore, at  Cnidus  he  determined  to  strike  almost 
directly  south  to  Crete,  on  the  south  side  of 
which  there  was  a  safe  harbor,  protected  from 
the  northern  gales.  Bounding  along  with  a 
whistling  wind  behind  them,  they  fetch  Salmone, 
the  eastern  promontory  of  Crete,  passing  around 
which  they  again  work  to  windward,  until  they 
reach  "the  Fair  Havens,"  —  "the  farthest  point 
to  which  an  ancient  ship  could  have  attained 
with  northwesterly  winds."  ' 

We  are  interested  in  this  ship,  because  she 
carries  Paul.  If  Paul  were  safely  on  shore,  we 
would  not  care  to  follow  her  fortunes ;  but,  as 
it  is,  we  are  anxious  for  her,  lying  in  this  poorly 
protected  harbor,  so  fur  from  her  destination, 
and  "with  the  season  of  safe  navigation  just 
closing.  Day  after  day  passes  while  the  cap- 
tain watches  the  clouds  and  feels  of  the  wind, 
hoping  that  before  a  severer  storm  breaks,  the 
wind  may  shift  and  allow  him  to  continue  his 
voyage.  But  the  season  is  advancing  with  un- 
faltering rapidity.  The  close  of  September  is 
upon  them,  and  they  arc  still  wind-bound.  All 
hope  of  seeing  Rome  before  winter  is  now  at  an 
end.    But  they  must  get  away  from  Fair  Havens 

1  Smith's  "  Voyage  aail  Shipwreck  of  St.  Paul,"  p.  77. 


322 


LIFE    OF    PAUL. 


[A.D.  60. 


li:^    ' 


i    •     . 


t;:  ■ 


if  possible.  About  forty  miles  farther  to  the 
west,  on  the  southern  coast  of  Crete,  is  the  safe 
port  of  Phoenix.  This  they  are  anxious  to 
reach. 

The  Fast,^  or  Day  of  Atonement,  which  every 
Jew  on  board  the  ship,  whethe?  sailor,  pas- 
senger, or  prisoner,  would  remember  and  very 
likely  observe,  passed  by.  It  occurred  on  the 
24th  of  September.  Five  days  later  was  the 
joyous  Festival  of  Tabernacles.  It  was  certainly 
time  for  every  vessel  to  be  safely  harbored  for 
the  winter.  The  captain  and  owner,  however, 
could  not  abandon  the  hope  of  yet  getting  away 
from  this  poorly-protected  port.  It  appears  as 
if  they  held  a  council  composed  of  the  officers 
of  the  ship  and  the  centurion,  and  that  Paul  also 
was  present.  We  do  not  know  by  what  stretch 
of  courtesy  in  their  extreme  anxiety  these  men 
permitted  Paul,  the  prisoner,  to  express  his 
opinion.  Perhaps  the  real  greatness  of  his 
character,  and  the  fact  of  his  piist  experiences 
on  the  sea  (for  he  had  been  three  times  ship- 
wrecked) ,2  commanded  the  respect  of  those  in  a 
superior  position.  He  advised  them  by  all 
means  to  take  the  lesser  risk,  and  stay  at  Fair 
Havens. 

"  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "  I  am  sure  that  this 
voyage  will  result  not  only  in  injury  and  dam- 


(iMl 


>  Acts  xxvii.  9. 


«  2  Cor.  ii.  25. 


^-s 


^T.  rA,] 


THE  VOYAGE  AND  SHIPWRECK. 


323 


. 


icers 
also 
etch 
men 
his 
his 
noes 
ship- 
in  a 
all 
Fair 

this 
Idam- 


age  to  the  cargo  and  the  ship,  hut  also  in  peril 
to  our  lives." 

But  the  centurion,  however  nuich  he  respected 
Paul,  had  more  confidence  in  the  judgment  of 
the  captain  and  the  owner,  both  of  whom  were 
on  board,  and  were  no  doubt  experienced  sea- 
men. The  result  was,  that  the  majority  advised 
to  be  ready  with  the  first  favorable  change  of 
wind  to  leave  Fair  Havens  and  make  around 
Cape  Matala  to  Port  PhaMiix. 

They  were  not  obliged  to  wait  many  days. 
The  wind  veered  round  and  blew  softly  from  the 
south.  With  this  breeze  they  could  with  per- 
fect safety  round  the  cape.  All  was  stir  on 
deck.  The  officers  and  crew,  disheartened  be- 
fore with  the  prospect  of  wintering  at  Fair 
Havens,  were  now  hopeful  and  merry  with  the 
anticipation  of  being,  in  a  few  hours,  in  the 
quiet  harbor  of  Port  Phoenix.  But  south  winds 
in  October  are  not  to  be  relied  upon.  That  was 
a  treacherous  breeze  that  lured  the  vessel  aw^ay 
from  her  moorings.  Scarcely  had  she  come  off 
Cape  Matala  and  looked  across  to  the  coveted, 
port,  when  the  wind  fell  away,  and  an  ominous 
flapping  of  the  sails  made  every  face  on  deck 
look  serious.  Dark  clouds  came  up  the  sky 
behind  the  hills  of  Crete,  and  threw  their 
gloomy  shadows  over  the  blnck  waters.  That 
weird  stillness,  which  is  the  precursor  of  furious 


324  LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  60. 


liij 


itl, 


:■       ■'  'I 


^  m 


\i< 


storms,  hung  over  land  and  sea.  The  waves 
crouched  trenil^ling  for  very  fear  of  the  hish  of 
the  typhoon.  The  storm  came  on.  The  sail- 
ors could  see  it  sweeping  down  from  the  hills, 
throwing  before  it  clouds  of  dust  and  dry  au- 
tumn leaves,  and  soon  they  felt  it  driving  its 
great  rain-drops  sharp  into  their  faces.  It  was 
only  a  moment.  There  was  no  time  to  furl  the 
clumsy  sail,  nor  take  up  the  boat,  which  had 
been  towed  astern.  The  sailor's  terror,  the 
merciless  euraquilo,^  was  upon  them.  All 
hope  of  running  into  Port  Phoenix  in  the  face 
of  such  a  hurricane  was  at  once  abandoned. 
No  ship,  much  less  the  Alexandrian  corn-ship, 
could  face  that  tempest.  There  was  only  one 
thing  to  be  done,  and  that  was  to  turn  her  heel 
to  the  storm  and  scud  before  it. 

Twenty-three  miles  to  leeward  lay  the  little 
island  of  Clauda.  To  this  the  ship  was  headed, 
and  the  gale  was  driving  her  on  thi'ough  the  roar- 
ing sea  with  tremendous  speed.  Running  under 
the  lee  of  the  island,  they  hove-to,  and  with  all 
the  alacrity  of  which  the  frightened  sailors  were 
capable,  took  in  part  of  their  sail,  hoisted  the 
boat,  and,  to  prepare  the  vessel   to  resist  the 

1  The  euraqnilo  was  a  fierce  east-north-easter.  The  translation 
'*  euroclydon,"  in  tlic  Authorized  Version  is  incorrect.  Indeed, 
the  translation  of  the  entire  account  of  the  shipwreck  is  very  im- 
perfect. The  Revised  Version  is  a  great  improvement,  and  ouglit 
to  be  read  in  this  cotiuection. 


.D.  60. 

^aves 
ihof 
sail- 
hills, 
y  au- 

lor    its 

b  was 
rl  the 
h  had 
r,  the 
All 
le  face 
doned. 
ii-ship, 
ily  one 
r  heel 

le  little 
leaded, 
le  roar- 
under 
[vith  all 
IS  were 
Ited  the 
jist  the 

Itranslation 
Indeed, 
lis  very  im- 
laud  ought 


^T. 


THE   VOYAGE    AND   SHIPWRECK. 


325 


furious  storm,  undergirded  her  with  stout 
cables.* 

It  was  not  safe  to  turn  the  vessel's  prow  to 
the  west  again,  and  let  her  drive  before  the  gale  ; 
for  she  would  in  this  way  inevitaljl}'  be  stranded 
upon  the  sand-bars  of  Northern  Africa.  The 
only  other  thing  was  to  let  her  lie-to  with  her 
head  pretty  well  up  to  the  wind.  In  this  posi- 
tion she  would  drift,  almost  entirely  at  the 
mercy  of  the  storm. 

The  night  settles  down,  and  the  helpless  ship 
—  freighted  with  Egyptian  wheat  for  the  ovens 
of  Rome,  and  with  two  hundred  and  seventy-six 
men,  one  of  whom  carries  in  his  heart  and  mind 
a  seed,  which,  dropped  in  the  world's  metropolis, 
will  bring  forth  a  harvest  of  eternal  life  —  is 
dri/en  on  through  a  hissing  sea  to  an  unknown 
fate. 

The  next  morning  the  light  crawled  heavily 
up  from  the  east,  and  the  tempest  was  unabated. 
The  vessel  labored.  To  relieve  her,  part  of  the 
cargo  was  thrown  overboard. 

The  third  day  came ;  but  the  fury  of  the 
euraquilo  still  smote  the  trembling  ship.      She 

1  To  undergird  "  ia  to  pass  four  or  five  turns  of  a  large  cable- 
laid  rupe  round  the  hull  or  frame  of  a  ship,  to  support  her  in  a 
great  storm,  or  otlierwise,  when  it  is  apprehended  that  she  is  not 
strong  enough  to  resist  the  violent  efforts  of  tlie  sea."  —  Quoted 
from  "Falconer's  Marine  Dictionary,"  by  Smith  :  "Shipwreck," 
p.  108. 


i 


326 


LIFE    OF    PAUL. 


[A.D.  60. 


hH 


must  ride  more  lightly  or  be  1)roken  and  go 
down.  The}'  threw  over,  therefore,  "  the  tack- 
ling," —  very  likely  the  main-yard,  with  all  its 
rigging.  The  prospect  now  is  gloom\  enough. 
Upon  a  dismantled  ship,  over  which  the  sea  is 
incessantly  breaking  from  stem  to  stern,  with 
no  certainty  as  to  her  position,  and  little  hope 
of  ever  seeing  land  again,  no  wonder  that  no 
one  cared  to  eat.  There  was  one  on  board, 
however,  whose  faith  triumphed  amidst  these 
most  perilous  surroundings.  It  was  for  that 
little,  aged,  pale,  and  weary  Jew,  that  pris- 
oner who,  if  he  should  escape  from  the  fury  of 
the  storm,  was  only  to  fall  into  the  bloody 
hands  of  Nero,  to  stand  out  during  those  sun- 
less days  and  starless  nights,  when  the  tempest 
lay  heavy  upon  the  doomed  ship,  and  speak  a 
true,  manly.  Christian  word  of  good  cheer  and 
hope.  He  reminded  them  all  that  it  would  have 
been  l)etter  if  they  had  followed  his  advice  to 
remain  at  Fair  Havens,  and  then  assured  them 
that  no  harm  would  come  to  any  one,  though 
the  ship  would  be  lost ;  "  for,"  he  continued, 
"there  stood  by  me  this  night  an  angel  of  God, 
whose  I  am,  whom  also  I  serve,  saying  fear 
not,  Paul :  thou  must  stand  before  Ctesar,  and 
lo !  God  hath  granted  thee  all  them  that  sail 
v/ith  thee.  Wherefore,  sirs,  be  of  good  cheer ; 
for  I  believe  God  that  it  shall  come  to  pass  just 


I 


Mr.  54.] 


THE    VOYAGE    AND    SHU'WRECK. 


327 


g« 


as  has  been  told  me.  How])eit  we  must  be  cast 
away  upon  a  certain  island." 

For  two  long  weeks  the  strained  and  creaking 
ship  tumbled  across  the  rolling  sea.  The  storm 
may  have  gone  down  somewhat,  Init  the  sea  was 
very  heavy.  About  midnight  of  the  fourteenth 
day,  the  men  on  the  lookout  thought  they  de- 
tected the  peculiar  roar  of  l)reakers.  Imme- 
diately the  lead  was  thrown,  and  to  their 
surprise  they  discovered  that  there  were  only 
twenty  fathoms  (one  hundred  and  twenty  feet) 
of  water.  This  indicated  that  land  might  be 
near.  In  a  little  while  they  sounded  again. 
They  had  only  fifteen  fathoms.  They  were  evi- 
dently running  upon  some  shore ;  and  a  stormy 
shore  at  midnight  is  certain  destruction  and 
death.  It  was  with  all  possible  promptness, 
therefore,  that  they  dropped  four  anchors  astern, 
and  brought  their  weather-beaten  craft  to  a 
stand. 

Impatiently  now  they  waited  and  longed  for 
the  dawn.  Everybody  was  aroused.  The  sail- 
ors, afraid  that  the  ship  might  go  to  pieces  be- 
fore morning,  —  under  pretext  of  carrying  an- 
chors out  from  the  bow, — attempted  to  lower 
the  boat,  intending,  when  they  struck  the  water, 
to  make  for  the  shore.  Paul  detected  their  in- 
tention, and  at  once  informed  the  centurion  and 
his  soldiers.     "Except  these  sailors  remain  in 


'u 


328 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  60. 


♦H  ■  P. 


ll'rM 


^1 


the  ship,  you  cannot  be  saved."  Immediately 
the  soldiers  severed  the  ropes  by  which  the  boat 
hung  at  the  ship's  side,  and  let  it  tumble  into 
the  sea. 

Slowly  to  these  anxious  people  the  night 
wore  on.  They  were  cold  and  hungry.  They 
had  fasted  many  days.  The  most  self-possessed 
and  the  calmest  man  of  them  all  was  Paul.  He 
knew  that  when  daylight  came  every  man  of 
them  would  need  to  be  at  his  best  in  order  to  get 
safely  ashore.  He  urged  them,  therefore,  to  eat ; 
and  set  the  example  by  taking  bread,  returning 
thanks  to  the  Giver  of  all  good  things,  and 
commencing  himself.  All  were  cheered,  and 
bread  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  until  every 
one  was  satisfied.  With  a  will,  then,  they 
went  to  work  again  upon  the  cargo,  emptying 
into  the  sea  basket  after  basket  of  that  good 
wheat  from  the  Nile  valley. 

At  last  daylight  came ;  but  no  one  on  board 
recognized  the  shore.  They  were  close  to  the 
land,  however,  and  just  before  them  was  a  bay,^ 
wind-swept,  though,  —  for  it  lay  open  to  the 
northeast.  Into  this  bay  they  decided  to  run 
the  ship  and  beach  her.  The  small  sail  (the  only 
one  left  after  the  hurricane)  was  hoisted,  the  lash- 
ings which  fastened  the  rudders  were  unloosed, 
the  hawsers  were  cut,  leavino-  the  anchors  f  which 

»  The  present  "  St.  Paul's  Bay." 


•  A. 


[A.D.  60. 


Mr.  54.1 


THE    VOYAGE    AND   SIIirWKECK. 


331 


liiitely 
le  boat 
ie  into 

night 
They 
jsessed 
I.  He 
nan  of 
L'  to  get 
to  eat ; 
urning 
;s,  and 
d,  and 
every 
I,  they 
iptying 
t  good 

board 
to  the 
a  bay/ 
to  the 
to  run 
le  only 
le  lash- 
loosed, 
(which 


it  would  hjive  been  impo.ssil)le  to  lift  out  of  Iho 
clay  where  they  were  bedded),  and  the  ship  was 
run  upon  the  clayey  beach.  The  bov;  stuck  fast ; 
but  the  breakers  pounding  with  tremendous  force 
against  the  stern  stove  it  in,  and  were  likely,  in 
a  very  little  while,  to  scatter  the  whole  of  the 
shattered  hulk  along  the  shore.  There  was  the 
utmost  confusion.  Some  leaped  overboard  and 
swam  ashore  ;  but  the  soldiers  were  too  familiar 
with  the  unyielding  severity  of  Roman  military 
discipline  to  abandon  their  post  of  duty,  even 
to  save  their  lives.  Each  one  was  responsible 
for  a  prisoner,  for  whom,  if  he  allowed  him  to 
escape,  he  nmst  answer  with  his  own  life. 
Therefore,  in  the  panic  which  accompanied  the 
breaking  up  of  the  wreck,  the  soldiers  clamored 
for  an  order  from  their  centurion  to  kill  the 
prisoners;  but  Julius  had  no  heart  to  stain  the 
deck  of  a  stranded  vessel  with  the  blood  of  men 
who  had  not  ^et  been  tried  for  the  crimes  for 
which  they  wave  under  arrest.  Especially  would 
he  spare  the  man  Paul.  He  silenced  the  de- 
mand of  his  men ;  and,  instead  of  permitting 
such  an  act  of  barbarity,  assumed  the  responsi- 
bility of  releasing  every  prisoner,  and  first 
commanded  those  that  could  swim  to  jump  into 
the  breakers  and  iret  to  the  shore  ;  while  tlie  rest 
must  help  themselves  as  best  they  could  with 
broken  frairments  of  the  wreck. 


!i  ' 


i  ■ 


J 


•     I 


ijil 


1     I 


332 


LIFE    OF   TAUL. 


[A.D.  60. 


Drciichud,  shaking,  and  breathless,  one  hy  one 
they  were  carried  in  on  the  rolling  surf,  until 
every  one  of  the  two  hundred  and  seventy-six 
soldiers,  sailors,  prisoners,  and  passengers  stood 
together  on  the  1)each.  The  rude  natives  of  the 
island,  who  had  dou])tlcss  ol)served  the  vessel 
coming  ashore,  and  had  witnessed  the  struggles 
of  the  shipwrecked  voyagers  in  reaching  the 
land,  gathered  around  them  with  offers  of  such 
hospitality  as  they  possessed.  They  called  their 
island  Melita  or  Malta.  There  was  no  house  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  wreck,  if  indeed  there  was  a 
house  within  several  miles  large  enough  to  ac- 
commodate all  these  strangers.  But  they  were 
shivering  in  th  dr  drenched  clothing,  and  a  c  'd 
rain  was  falling.  Already  the  people  of 
island  have  kindled  a  tire.  Paul  was  busy,  with 
others,  gathering  such  brushwood  and  roots  as 
■were  lying  about,  and  heaping  them  on  the 
blaze,  when  a  viper,  which  in  the  cold  had 
prol)ably  crept  into  the  cavity  of  some  half- 
decayed  root  or  limb,  aroused  by  the  flame, 
darted  out  and  fastened  itself  to  his  hand.  The 
superstitious  natives  ^vere  amazed ;  and  falling 
back,  whispered  among  themselves  that  this 
man,  one  of  the  prisoners,  Avas  no  doubt  a  mur- 
derer, who,  although  he  had  escaped  from  the 
wreck,  was  overtaken  by  vengeance  when  he 
least  expected  it.     And  although  Paul  shook 


[A.D.  60. 


^r.  5J. 


THE    VOYAfJi:    AND    SIIIPWIIKCK. 


333 


])y  Olio 
f,  until 
iiily-six 
L-s  stood 
s  of  the 
3  vessel 
:i'uggles 
ling  the 
of  such 
led  their 
house  in 
re  was  a 
h  to  ac- 
ley  were 
d  a  c  M 

of 
sy,  with 
roots  as 
on  the 
[old   had 
le  half- 
flame, 
The 
\\  falling 
lat   this 
It  a  mur- 
irom  the 
Uhen  he 
ll  shook 


the  creature  oil"  into  the  tiro  without  feeling  any 
bite  or  sting,  still  they  kept  a  sharp  eye  upon 
him,  expecting  that  the  hand  and  arm  would 
swell,  or  that  he  would  suddenly  drop  dead. 
They  watched  in  vain.  The  viper  had  not  in- 
jured him  at  all.  When  they  were  sure  of 
this,  they  were  as  enthusiastic  in  their  admira- 
tion as  they  had  ))een  (juick  in  their  suspicion, 
and  said  that  Paul  must  surely  be  a  god. 

It  woiihl  have  been  impracticable  to  leave 
Malta  during*  the  winter.  For  the  next  three 
months,  —  November,  December,  and  January, 

—  therefore,  the  storm-bound  mariners  must 
make  the  l)cst  of  their  surroundings.  Five  or 
six  miles  from  the  place  where  the  vessel  was 
lost,  Publius,  the  governor  of  the  island,  resided. 
This  man,  l)eing  of  hospitable  disposition,  sent 
an  invitation  for  the  entire  company  to  come 
to  his  town,  and  provided  accommodations  for 
them  for  three  da^^s.  The  aged  father  of  the 
governor  was  very  sick.     We  wonder  if  Luke 

—  w^ho,  it  must  be  remembered,  was  still  with 
Paul,  and  who  was  a  physician  —  would  not 
be  asked  to  see  the  sick  man.  Luke  does  not 
speak  of  himself,  however,  but  ne  docs  say  that 
Paul  went  to  the  side  of  the  old  man's  bed,  put 
his  hands  on  him,  prayed,  and  healed  him. 
When  it  was  known  that  Paul  could  heal  the 
sick,  the   people  came  from   all    parts   of  the 


334 


LIFE   OF  PAXJL. 


[A.D.  61. 


i\t 


island,  beseeching  him  to  heal  them  also.  This 
he  was  ready  to  do,  and  in  turn  the  people  con- 
ferred marked  attention  and  kindness  upon  Paul 
and  his  friends. 

During  those  tlu'ce  winter  months,  undoubt- 
edly, Paul  preached  C'lirist  to  the  idolaters  of 
Malta;  and,  from  the  fact  that  at  the  time  of 
departure,  the  people  loaded  them  with  such 
things  as  they  needed  for  the  remainder  of  the 
voyage  to  Rome,  we  may  believe  that  the  Gospel 
wi.,s  received  by  many  who  heard  it  that  winter. 

Spring  comes  early  in  the  Mediterranean. 
Navigation  was  open,  the  storm-tossed  sea  was 
at  peace  again,  early  in  February.  The  Castor 
and  Pollux  —  another  Alexandrian  ship,  more 
fortunate  than  the  vessel  which,  driven  by  the 
gale,  was  stranded  on  the  north  side  of  Malta 
—  had  wintered  in  the  snug  harbor  of  Valetta. 
She  was  now  waiting  to  proceed  to  Rome  with 
the  first  available  wind.  Julius  engaged  pas- 
sage on  her  for  his  soldiers  and  prisoners.  The 
tirst  day  out  from  Valetta  would  bring  them  to 
the  shore  of  Sicily,  directly  north  from  Malta. 
Here,  apparently,  they  met  a  head-wind,  and 
were  obliofed  to  run  into  Svracuse  and  wait 
three  days.  The  wind  still  being  unfavorable, 
they  sailed  by  a  circuitous  route  into  the  mouvh 
of  the  straits  of  Messina,  and,  not  being  able  to 
pass  the  straits,  dropped  anchor  in  the  harbor 


,D.  61. 


JEr.  55.] 


THE   VOYAGE    AND   SHIPWRECK. 


335 


This 
con- 
Paul 


oubt- 
rs  of 
lie  of 
such 
)f  the 
lospel 
inter, 
mean. 
3a  "vvas 
Castor 
more 
3y  the 
Malta 
aletta. 
e  with 
d  pas- 
The 
em  to 
iMalta. 
and 
wait 
rable, 
mouth 
ble  to 
Iharbor 


of  Rhemum.  The  next  day  was  fine.  The 
wind  came  in  from  the  south.  The  clouds  flew 
away.  The  sunlight  fell  upon  the  peaks  —  not 
far  away  —  of  smoking  yEtna  and  blazing  Strom- 
boli.  It  was  a  pleasant  run  through  the  straits, 
along  the  shore  of  Italy,  to  the  charming  bay  of 
Naples,  where,  — 

"  Not  a  grove, 
Citron  or  pine  or  cedar,  not  a  grot 
Sea-worn  and  mantled  with  the  gadding  vine. 
But  hreathes  enchantment.    Not  a  cliff  but  flings 
On  the  clear  wave  some  image  of  delight, 
Some  cabin-roof  glowing  with  crimson  flowers, 
Some  ruined  temple  or  fallen  monument, 
To  muse  on  as  the  bark  is  gliding  by."  • 

1  Samuel  Rogers :  «'  Italy." 


\ 


! 


m 


',■; 


■i 
■( 

■a 
■J 

;■  < 

•I! 


I  !■■' 


ft'" 


rr,f 


I 

H'lji 


t    I  ■''    l! 


Ki'  '  P 


n 

*  is 

I    '' 


I 


5 


m  m 


till 


Hi 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  PRISONER  AT  ROME. 

"  I  must  also  see  Rome."  —  Acts  xix.  21. 

"  I  am  in  Rome !   Oft  as  the  morning  ray 
Visits  these  eyes,  waking  at  once  I  ciy, 
Whence  this  excess  of  joy  ?    What  has  befallen  me  ? 
And  from  within  a  thrilling  voice  replies, 
Thou  art  in  Rome ! "  —  Rogers. 

PAUL  will  soon  be  in  the  capital  of  the 
world,  the  largest,  richest,  and  most  splen- 
didly ornamented  city  of  the  first  century.  In 
its  external  aspect  the  magnificence  of  Rome 
would  have  compared  favorably  ^vith  that  of 
modern  Paris.  It  was  not  a  city  of  temples 
and  statues  like  Athens ;  but  rather  a  city  of 
avenues  and  arches,  theatres,  baths,  and  palaces. 
Augustus,  during  a  long  and  prosperous  rule  of 
nearly  half  a  century,  had  rebuilt  Rome,  — 
"  having  found  a  city  of  brick,  and  left  one  of 
marble  in  its  stead." 

The  population  of  the  city  of  Rome  at  this 
time  is  estimated  to  have  been  about  two  mil- 
lions. Half  of  these  were  freemen,  only  a  small 
proportion  of  whom,  however,  were  native  Ro- 
niMus.  Even  the  freemen  were  largely  foreign- 
ers, who  had  secured,  in  one  way  and  another, 
836 


Mt.  56.] 


THE    PRISONER   AT   ROME. 


337 


le? 

of  the 
:  splen- 
•y.     In 
Rome 
bat  of 
emples 
city  of 
alaces. 
rule  of 
me,  — 
one  of 

at  this 
^vo  mil- 
la  small 
ive  Ro- 
Foreign- 
Inother, 


the  freedom  of  the  state.     The  other  half  of  the 
population  was  composed  entirely  of  slaves. 

Slavery  was  the  poison  and  curse  of  Rome. 
The  slave  was  a  mere  chattel.  His  master  pur- 
chased him  at  the  lowest  figure,  allowed  him  no 
personal  rights  at  all,  used  him  for  any  service 
which  he  pleased,  scourged  him  if  he  was  disobe- 
dient or  unfortunate,  killed  him  if  he  pleased, 
or  if  the  slave  was  old  and  worthless,  drove 
him  into  the  street  to  beg  or  starve.  Slaves 
were  cheap.  Rich  people  owned  thousands.  As 
many  as  twenty  thousand  shives  belonged  to  a 
single  owner ;  and  ten  was  the  smallest  possible 
number  that  a  person  of  respectability  could 
think  of  keeping  in  attendance.  One  of  the 
worst  features  of  slavery  was  that  there  were  so 
many  female  slaves.  Young  girls  from  every 
part  of  the  world,  selected  for  their  attractive- 
ness of  form  and  features,  were  brought  in 
hordes  to  Rome  to  be  the  slaves  of  rich  men, 
until  ruined  and  made  vicious  and  reckless,  they 
were  thrown  into  the  streets  to  deepen  the  terri- 
ble corruption  of  the  city's  morals.  "Horrors 
such  as  only  the  most  depraved  imagination  could 
conceive  were  made  possible  through  slavery."  ^ 

Religion  of  every  kind  was  at  its  lowest  ebb 
in  Rome.     It  was  practically  an  irreligious  city. 

1  For  a  full  account  of  slavery  itf  Rome,  sec  Dijllinger,  "The 
Geutile  aud  the  Jew,"  i :  259-277 ;  Brace,  "  (jicsta  C'hristi,"  41-70. 


338 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  6t. 


/ 1'!  il. 


''m 


There  were,  as  there  alwuvs  have  been,  some  who 
revered  the  old  gods,  and  who  endeavored  to  do 
right.  But  the  most  religious  and  purest  people 
in  Rome  at  this  time  were  the  Jews,  the  larf'er 
part  of  whom  worshij)ped  God  and  regarded 
the  Law  of  Moses.  Among  even  this  people, 
however,  there  were  noted  cases  of  compliance 
wnth  the  spirit  of  the  times.  There  were  a  few 
Christians  in  Rome,  "  faithful  anioni;  the  faith- 
less,"  though,  up  to  the  time  of  Prtul's  arrival, 
there  may  have  been  no  organized  Christian 
church.  1 

In  a  splendid  palace  on  the  Palatine  Hill, 
having  been  lifted  by  the  circumstances  of  birth 
and  intrigue  to  rule  this  weltering  mass  of 
"  luxury  and  squalor,  wealth  and  want,"  young 
Nero  lives.  He  has  been  emperor  seven  years. 
At  the  age  of  sixteen,  a  year  before  he  assumed 
the  purple,  he  was  married  to  Octavia,  whose 
virtues  soon  becoming  tedious  to  his  fervid 
fancy,  he  abandoned  her,  and  lived  on  terms  of 
lawless  intimacy  with  Acte,  a  Greek  courtesan. 
Acte,  however,  did  not  long  hold  the  affections 
of  this  youthful  monster,  but  was  soon  displaced 
from  his  embraces  by  the  adulterous  Poppaea,^ 

1  Mcriviilc  :    "  St.  Paul  in  "Rome,  "  52, 

2  "This  infamous  woman,  not  content  with  inducino:  her  para- 
mour to  divorce  his  youngr  wile  Oc:;:A'ia,  had  demanded  and  obtained 
the  death  of  her  rival ;  and  had  gloated  over  the  head  of  her  mur- 
dered victim,  which  was  forwarded  from  Pandataria  to  Rome  for  her 
inspection  "  —  ('oxybeare  and  IIowsox  :  "  St.  Paul,"  ii.  43L 


A.D.  61. 


JET.  .VJ.] 


THE    PRISONER    AT   ROME. 


339 


le  who 
to  do 
people 
larfrer 
yarded 
)eople, 
Dliance 

L 

J  a  few 
3  faith- 
irrival, 
iristian 

e  Hill, 
:)f  birth 
ass   of 
young 
years, 
ssumed 
whose 
fervid 
rms  of 
rtesan. 
ections 
splaced 
)pp8ea,2 


her  para- 
d  obtained 

her  mur- 
ine for  her 
i.  431. 


who  already  had  two  husl)ands.  Nero  had 
been  a  pretty  boy.  His  principal  instructors 
were  a  barber  and  a  dancinsf-rnaster.  He  "  had 
handsome  features,  was  of  a  ruddy  complexion, 
with  blue  eves,  and  wore  his  liiriit  hair,  like  a 
girl,  in  tresses ;  and  when  he  visited  Greece  it 
was  even  bound  in  a  fiilet  at  the  back  of  his 
head.  He  was  usuallv  attired  in  the  most 
fantastic  dress,  and  never  put  on  the  same  robe 
twice."  ^  This  fanciful  and  soft-lookins:  fellow 
was  a  fiend  in  disijuise.  He  threw  one  of 
Rome's  best  statesmen,  Narcissus,  into  a  damp 
dungeon  to  starve  and  die ;  poisoned  his  un- 
successful rival,  Britannicus,  at  the  age  of  thir- 
teen ;  nuirdered  his  own  mother,  Agrippina ; 
divorced  and  permitted  the  death  of  his  wife, 
Octavia ;  compelled  Seneca  to  take  his  own 
life,  because  he  was  so  immensely  rich ;  to 
gratify  a  mere  boyish  whim,  is  reputed  to  have 
burnt  a  large  part  of  the  city  with  great  destruc- 
tion of  property  and  life ;  in  a  fit  of  passion 
kicked  Popposa,  his  paramour,  to  death ;  and 
ended  his  career  by  suicide  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
one. 

It  was  toward  such  a  city  as  this,  compact 
with  every  form  of  folly  and  vice,  taking  the 
tone  of  its  irreligion  and  immorality  from  the 
example  and  law  of  such  a  wretch,  that  the 
great  Apostle  to  the  (rontiles  was  moving. 

1  Lcwin,  ii.  227. 


in 


m. 


340 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  61. 


The  Casio?'  and  Pollux,  in  all  probability  tlic 
first  gniin-sliip  that  had  ariivotl  I'roiii  Egypt  that 
spring,  ran  into  the  l)ay  of  Naples  and  up  to 
Puteoli  with  all  her  canvas  set.  The  arrival 
of  these  vessels,  upon  whose  cargoes  so  much  of 
the  prosperity  of  Italy  depended,  was  watched 
with  eagerness  ;  and  this  tirst  one  of  the  season 
was  likely  to  be  welcomed  with  a  genuine  ova- 
tion. The  people  gathered  in  crowds  upon  the 
wharves,  and  gave  themselves  up  to  the  recrea- 
tion and  hilarity  of  a  pul)lic  holiday-'  There 
were  Christian  brethren  at  Puteoli,  who  were 
soon  made  aware  of  the  arrival  of  the  three 
Christian  men  from  Judea,  —  especially  of  him 
whose  letter  to  Rome  three  years  before  some 
of  them  had  heard.  Julius  was  quite  willing 
that  his  prisoners  should  remain  in  Puteoli  a 
week.  Indeed,  we  may  imagine  that  this  officer 
of  the  army,  who  had  been  compelled  to  pass 
the  last  six  months  in  such  hardship,  would  have 
a  keen  appetite  for  the  pleasures  and  luxu- 
ries of  the  gay  watering-place.  Paul,  however, 
would  be  likely  to  find  another  kind  of  recrea- 
tion. It  was  always  his  highest  joy  under 
whatever  circumstances,  to  i)reach  to  and  to 
teach  men  of  every  class  and  nationality,  the 
good  news  of  the  Gospel.  At  the  end  of  seven 
days  Julius  was  ready  to  move  on  to  Rome. 

1  Mori  vale :  "  St.  Paul  iu  Home,"  p.  50. 


JEr.  M.] 


THE    PUISONER    AT    UOME. 


341 


The  Appiiiii  Way,  the  "  Queen  of  Koads," 
which  connected  Brundusium  with  the  capital, 
passed  through  Capua,  a  few  miles  inhmd  from 
Puteoli.  Portions  of  the  carefully-fitted  pave- 
ment of  this  celebrated  road  are  still  to  be  seen, 
though  it  is  more  than  two  thofsand  years  since 
it  was  made.  This  was  the  highway  to  liome. 
We  have  no  information  in  regard  to  the  means 
of  conveyance  chosen  l)y  Julius ;  but  we  may 
presume  that  the  prisoners  walked.  Paul,  how- 
ever, was  a  good  j)edestrian.  We  remember 
how  he  preferred  to  walk  from  Troas  to  Assos, 
when  his  companions  went  by  ship.  kSo,  on 
they  "  went  toward  Rome."  ^  The  Appian  Way 
presents  a  scene  of  animation  at  this  time  of 
year.  The  season  opens  early  in  Italy.  The 
willows  by  the  roadside  are  tossing  their  little 
tufts  of  green  in  the  soft  air.  The  people  from 
the  city  are  beginning  to  scatter  to  the  hills 
and  the  seaside,  —  to  Capua,  Cumpe,  Formise, 
Baia3,  Neapolis,  Puteoli,  and  Caprete.  As  Paul 
and  his  friends  go  on,  carriages  with  richly 
attired  ladies  roll  along  the  pavement ;  heavy 
wagons  with  grain  for  hungry  Rome  rumble  by  ; 
the  vine-clad  Falernian  hills  look  down  upon 
them ;  the  valleys  are  bright  with  coming  sum- 
mer ;  the  sea,  which  is  so  near  at  some  points 
as   almost    to    touch    the    A[)])ian    pavement, 

1  Acts  xxviii.  14. 


jK^tum^i,^. 


J 


\n  )■ 


lAVi:   OF    PAUL. 


[A.D.  61. 


s|)}irkl('s  !Ui(l  (lancet  in  ils  I'lvt'  deliiiht.  Hut 
Pmil  is  a  prisoner.  Emperors  juul  gen(3rjils 
have  swept  aloni*-  this  avenue,  drairffinir  thou- 
sands  of  eaptives  in  triumphal  procession  to 
Kome.  Envoys  from  foreign  courts  with  re- 
splendent retimies  have  passed  this  way.  But 
here  comes  one,  — an  aml)assador  of  the  Lord, 
and  in  l>onds ! 

The  delay  at  Puteoli  had  been  long  enough  to 
permit  the  news  of  Paul's  airival  to  reach  the 
Christian  disciples  in  Home,  one  hundred  and 
forty  miles  away.  These  brethren  came  to 
meet  him  all  the  way  to  Appii  Forum,  some 
forty  miles.  It  was  a  great  pleasure  to  Paul  to 
receive  such  a  welcome.  Ten  miles  further,  at 
the  Three  Taverns,  another  group  of  Christians 
were  waiting  for  him.  When  Paul  looked  into 
the  eaircr  faces  of  these,  —  we  cannot  but  won- 
der  if  his  dear  friends,  Aquila  and  Priscilla, 
were  not  among  them, — he  thanked  God,  and 
took  courasre."  ^ 

At  last  we  .are  in  Rome.  We  have  entered 
by  the  Capena  Gate,  past  the  Circus  Maximus, 
the  great  race-course,  under  the  brow  of  the 
Palatine  Hill,^  upon  which  towers  the  imperial 

1  Acts  xxviii.  1'). 

2  *♦  The  Paliitiiic  was  tlic  most  oonspicuous  spot  on  the  earth, 
not  mcroly  for  crime,  hut  for  splendor  and  jiower.  This  was  the 
centre  of  all  the  movements  of  the  empire.  Here  were  heard  the 
causes  of  all  lioman  citizen-:  who  hml  appcnlcd  toCa^-ar."  —  CoXY- 
BEAUB  aod  llowsON  ;  "  St.  raul,"  ii.  419. 


Hut 


earth, 

as  the 

ml  the 

CONV- 


i 


'i  I 


If 

•I 


I 


firn 


i; 


!  •' 


m 


JEr.  M.] 


THE    PiasONEU    y\T    nOMK. 


345 


paliice,  around  to  the  entrjincc  of  the  Praeto- 
rium  or  ])Jirrac'ks,  where,  after  the  eustomary  for- 
malities, the  centurion  relinquished  his  charge 
to  the  officer  in  command,  Burrus,  the  prefect 
of  the  Prietorium. 

In  addition  to  the  comparatively  small  barracks 
on  the  Palatine,  which  could  accommodate  few 
more  than  the  body-guard  of  the  emperor,  there 
was  the  spacious  Prtetorian  camp  just  outside 
the  walls  on  the  northeast  side  of  the  city. 
This  camp  was  a  large  s(|uare  or  parade-ground 
surrounded  by  the  ouarters  of  the  Pnetorian 
cohorts,  that  part  of  the  standing  army  of  the 
empire  stationed  at  the  capital.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  ascertain  with  alisolute  certainty  in 
which  of  these  i)laces  Paul  was  kept.  We  have 
reason  to  believe,  though,  in  whichever  camp  he 
was,  that  his  confinement  was  relieved  of  some 
of  the  customary  severity.  Julius  had  treated 
him  with  marked  courtesy,  and  no  doubt  when 
the  centurion  delivered  his  remarkable  prisoner 
to  Burrus,  he  commended  him  to  the  special 
kindness  of  that  official.  The  Roman  law 
which  required  that  every  prisoners  right  wrist 
should  be  chained  to  a  soldiers  left  could  not 
be  relaxed :  but  Paul  could  have  his  own  apart- 
ment in  which,  with  the  ever  present  guard  at 
hand,  he  might  reside,  and  where  he  could  re- 
ceive his  friends,  or  strangers  even,  who  would 


^ 


ii 


H 


346 


LIFK   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  61. 


!  m^ 


■i  "U 


seek  him  for  religiou.s  instruction  and  consola- 
tion. Probably  during  the  Hrst  days  after  his 
Uirival  at  Home  some  of  the  Ciiristian  brethren 
were  with  him  continually,  busy  securing  as  good 
a  room  as  might  l)e  available  at  the  price  they 
could  pay,  providing  such  things  as  he  would 
need  for  his  comfort  by  day  and  night,  and 
some  of  them  talking  incessantly  of  past  days 
when  they  had  been  together. 

Three  days  passed  when  an  event  occurred, 
for  which  we  can  discover  no  explanation,  ex- 
cept it  be  in  Paul's  magnanimous  devotion  to 
his  own  people,  the  Children  of  Israel,  and  in 
his  hope  that  they  might  yet  accept  his  Saviour. 
He  would  make  one  more  attempt  to  reach  the 
hearts  of  his  countrymen,  even  here  in  Rome. 
Not  one  of  them  had  come  near  him ;  but  he 
wanted  to  see  them,  to  lay  l)efore  them  the  facts 
in  regard  to  his  arrest  and  commitment.  Ac- 
cordingly, he  sent  for  the  representatives,  "the 
chiefs  "  of  the  Jewish  c(»uimunity  in  Rome,  ask- 
ing them,  since  he  could  not  go  to  them,  to  do 
him  the  favor  to  come  to  him.  When  they  had 
assembled,  Paul  related  to  them  how  the  Jews 
at  Jerusalem  had  seized  him  and  delivered  him 
to  the  Romans  ;  how,  upon  examination,  the  Ro- 
man governor  discovered  no  offence  and  would 
have  acquitted  him  but  for  the  persistent  accu- 
sations bv  the  Jews,  in  the  face  of  which  he  was 


Mt.  55.] 


THE   PRISONEK   AT   ROME. 


347 


o])liged,  in  self-dofoncc,  to  appeal  to  the  em- 
peror, lie  would  have  them  know  that  he  was 
u  prisoner,  not  because  he  had  committed  any 
crime,  but  simply  because  he  held  that  the 
Jewish  hope  of  a  Messiah  had  been  fulHUed  in 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  The  reply  of  the  Jews  to 
Paul's  appeal  was  very  gracious,  if  indeed  it 
but  poorly  concealed  their  purpose  to  be  entirely 
unmoved  by  his  words.  They  had  not  received 
any  letters  from  Judea  in  regnvd  to  him,  nor 
had  they  heard  any  rumors  or  reports  to  his 
disadvantage.  They  would  like,  however,  to 
hear  his  opinions ;  for  they  had  heard  that  the 
sect  to  which  he  belonged  was  everywhere 
spoken  against. 

The  Jews  agreed  upon  a  day  w^hen  they 
could  hold  a  larger  and  a  more  "reneral  meeting 
of  their  people  to  listen  to  Paul.  They  pressed 
in  and  packed  Paul's  apartment,'  and  he  preached 
to  them,  explaining  the  Scripture  and  telling 
them  about  Jesus.  It  was  an  all-day  meeting, 
the  results  of  which  were  good.  Some  were 
not  persuaded  ;  but  some  others  were  persuaded, 
and  believed  what  Paul  had  said.  It  was  not  to 
be  expected  that  all  those  Jews  would  become 
followers   of  Christ.      A>'e   may   imagine   that 

I  It  is  presumed  that  there  were  not  less  tlian  sixty  thousand 
Jewish  residents,  in  Rome  at  this  time.  There  wei-e  seven  syna- 
gogues, the  officers  of  which  would  probably  fill  Paul's  lodging. 
Farrar's  "  St.  Paul,"  ll.  394. 


k 


348 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


tA.rr  61 


•vt 


it'  , 


M'i'F 


through  that  day,  from  early  morning  until  the 
dusk  of  evening,  they  listened,  asked  questions, 
nrgued,  and  debated.  But  they  could  not 
agree.  When  they  were  about  to  withdraw, 
Paul  spoke  one  more  word  to  them,  quoting 
from  the  same  prophet  to  whose  writings,  doubt- 
less he  had  referred  many  times  during  the 
day,— 

"  Well  spoke  the  Holy  Ghost  through  Isaiah 
the  prophet  unto  your  fathers,  saying, 

'  Go  thou  nnto  this  people,  ?.nd  say, 

'  Hearing  ye  shall  hear,  and  shall  not  understand, 

'  And  seeing  ye  shall  see  and  shall  not  perceive ; 

'  For  this  people's  heart  has  become  gross, 

'  And  their  ears  are  dull  of  hearing, 

*  And  their  eyes  havo  they  closed, 

'  Lest  they  should  see  with  their  eyes, 

'  And  hear  with  their  ears, 

'  And  understand  with  their  heart, 

*  And  should  be  converted, 

*  And  I  should  heal  them.' 

"Be  it  known  therefore  unto  you,  that  this 
salvation  of  God  is  sent  unto  the  Gentiles. 
They  also  will  hear  it." 

This  is  the  last  incident  in  the  life  of  Paul 
which  is  here  recorded  And  is  it  not  remark- 
able and  significant,  that  this  clesing  scene  in 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  should  have  l)een  a 
formal  declaration  by  the  principal  representa- 
tive of  Christianity  of  the  facts,  —  that  the  Jews 


tA.B.  61 

itil  the 
jstions, 
Id  not 
hdraw, 
juoting 
doiibt- 
ng  the 


stand, 
iive ; 


lat  this 
entiles. 

)f  Paul 
emark- 
?ene  in 
l)een  a 
esenta- 
Jews 


^■r.  5.-.] 


THE    PIJISOXET}    AT    HOME. 


340 


had  wilfully  and  stubbornly  rejected  the  Gos- 
pel, and  that,  beer  use  they  had  so  done,  the 
Gospel  Avould  go  to  the  Gentiles?  Henceforth 
the  Jew,  wrapping  himself  closely  in  the  robes 
of  his  religious  exdusivenoss,  will  stride  through 
the  centuries  with  ears  and  eyes  and  heart  closed 
to  the  appeals  of  the  Gospel. 

Paul's  prison-life  in  Rome  continued  through 
two  whole  years.  He  had  appealed  to  the 
CiEsar,  and  now  he  nuist  wait  for  the  dilatory 
motion  of  Cjcsar  Nero  or  of  his  deputy,  and 
abide  the  incvital)le  conse(juences  of  "the  law's 
delay."  Before  his  trial  could  come  on,  wit- 
nesses against  him  must  appear.  It  was  in  the 
autunm  of  A.  D.  00  that  he  made  his  appeal 
from  CjBsareji,  and  it  is  not  prol)a])le  that  the 
Jews  would  do  anything  about  sending  wit- 
nesses to  Rome  before  the  next  summer,'  espec- 
ially since  they  could  feel  that  the  hated  Apostle 
would  !)('  safe  in  a  Roman  prison,  and  they  could 
not  be  sure  but  that  when  the  trial  came  he 
would  l»c  ac(juitted  and  set  at  libert}'.  So  Paul 
waited,  b'!t  not  idly.  Thanks  to  the  kind  atten- 
tion of  frieM<Js,  he  occupied  his  own  apartment. 

1  "Thoir 'vi'tncssps  mw«f  bo  -iuininoned  from  Jmloa,  from  Syria, 
from  Cilicia,  froin  Pi^idiai.  f»')in  Mnoodonia;  in  all  cities  from 
Damnsciis  to  Corintli,  in  all  c'riiulno.^  from  Jerusalem  round  aboiij 
nnto  Illvrioum,  nnist  tfsiimony  he  BOiijrht  to  prove  the  seditious 
tui-ltulcnce  of  the  ritixU'a<l<?i"  of  tin'  Nuzaferies."  —  Conybeakk 
and  IIowsox  :  "  St.  Paul,"  ll.  VS. 


\y 


•  il 


350 


LIFE    OF   PAUL. 


[A.V.  62. 


!  ''i 


1 1 


Mere  he  was  accessible  at  all  times,  so  that, 
while  hecould  nol  visit  the  svna"()<>:ues,  nor  estab- 
lish  any  pul^lic  preaching-station  ;  nevertheless, 
within  his  own  lour  wails  he  had  the  completest 
liberty  to  receive,  converse  with,  and  preach  to 
all  who  desired  to  come.  We  are  ready  to  be- 
lieve  that  rich  results  came  from  these  two 
years,  while  the  captive  waited  and  labored. 
Stone  walls  cannot  imprison  enthusiasm  like 
Paul's.  He  was  throwing-  into  tlie  mass  of  in- 
famous  innnorality,  of  enervating-  luxury,  and 
of  desi)erate  philosophy  at  Rome,  the  leaven 
which  some  day  vould  save  iier  from  the  utter 
ruin  for  which  she  was  recklessl}''  preparing 
herself. 

No  doubt  persons  from  all  classes  in  the  city 
came  under  Paul's  personal  influence.  Sober 
men  and  women,  who  were  heartily  sick  of 
heathenism  and  waaited  a  l)etter  religion,  might 
be  found  seeking  out  the  prisoner.  Some  of  the 
soldiers  who  took  their  turns  to  guard  him, 
nn'ght  have  receiv-^d  and  scattered  the  truth. 
There  were,  probably,  thousands  of  slaves  of  all 
grades  in  attendance  upon  the  imperial  palace, 
all  of  whom  were  at  liberty  to  visit  the  man  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Some  of  these  ])ecame 
Christians.^  Of  this  class  was  one  for  whom 
l^aul  conceived  ;i   vcr\   lender  affection.     Is  it 


1  Pliil.  i.  la,  iv.  22. 


[A.D.  62. 

>o  that, 
•r  estiib- 
theless, 
npleteyt 
•each  to 
Y  to  be- 
sse  two 
tibored . 
3111  like 
s  of  in- 
rv,  and 
leaven 
le  utter 
•oparing 

the  city 
Sober 
sick  of 
,  might 
e  of  the 
d  him, 
truth. 
es  of  all 
palace, 
man  of 
l)ecame 
r  whom 
Is  it 


Mt.  56.] 


THE    PRISONER   AT   ROME. 


351 


not  surprising  how  a  thorough  conversion  will 
make  a  veritatjle  slave  to  be  the  chosen  compan- 
ion of  so  great  and  good  a  man  as  Paul  ? 

One  day  a  miserable  slave  found  his  way  into 
Paid's  lodging.  A  sharp  word  startled  his  dull 
conscience.  The  thought  of  his  past  life  over- 
whelmed him  and  he  became  a  Christian.  He 
told  Paul  that  he  had  belonged  to  Philemon, 
one  of  Paul's  ac(|uaintances  at  Colossw.  He 
ha'l  robbed  his  master  and  run  away.  For  all 
this  he  was  thoroughly  penitent,  and  in  his  pen- 
itence and  determination  to  be  a  Christian,  Paul 
took  him  to  his  heart.  "He  who  had  been  the 
slave  of  Philemon  is  now  made  the  'brother'  of 
the  saints  He  who  had  been  a  runaway  thief 
is  now  worthy  of  the  highest  trust."'  But 
Christianity  is  not  merely  penitence  and  forgive- 
ness, but  a  righteous  lifr  and,  if  need  be,  and 

—  as  far  as  possible  —  of  restoration.  Paul, 
accordingly,  sent  the  converted  slave  back  to 
kit?  master,  and  made  him  the  l>earer  of  a  letter, 

—  the  Epifitle  Pu  Philemon,  —  the  briefest,  the 
most  purej/  f^ersonal,  and  ow?  of  the  kindest 
aiifcd  most  tenderly  considerate  of  all  Paul's  let- 
tei's  that  we  have. 

While  Paul  was  still  a  prisoner,  Epaphras  of 
Colos.s«,  probably  the  pastor  of  the  cliiirch  in 
that  city,   caane   lo   Ronic      Hf   repm'ted   thai 

I  Howaou  :  *' C  umpuuicaa  m  bt.  Ji'aul, '  Ouebimua,  156. 


l\ 


:  'i 


^ 


i 
ij 

•r 
■  j-j 


352 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  63. 


dangerous  heresies  were  creejj^ng  into  the 
church.  How  Paul  longed  for  liberty,  that  he 
might  hurry  away  to  the  Christians  in  Coiossoe, 
and  correct  these  errors  !  But  this  he  could  not 
do.  His  only  method  of  reaching  them  was  by 
letter.  "With  great  care  and  painstaking  there- 
fore, he  wrote  the  letter, — the  Epistle  to  the 
Colosfd'ansj  and  sent  it  by  that  same  Tj'^chicus 
whom  we  saw  with  Paul  once  before.* 

It  must  have  been  about  the  some  time,  also, 
that  Paul  wrote  the  letter  called  the  Epistle  to 
the  Ephesians.  It  was  a  general  letter,  and 
"  though  addressed  to  the  Christians  at  Ephesus, 
was  designed  for  ciicuhition  in  all  the  churches  "^ 
in  that  part  of  Asia. 

Still  later,  and  near  the  end  of  the  two  years, 
a  most  refreshing  incident  occurred  to  break 
the  monotony  of  Paul's  life.  This  was  no  less 
than  the  arrival,  from  that  warm-hearted  church 
at  Philippi,  of  Epa])hr()ditus,  with  gifts  to  sup- 
ply any  need  that  the  Apostle  might  have. 
Paul's  circumstances  were  not  so  hopeful  as 
they  had  been.  Burrus,,  the  lenient  and  con- 
sidenite  Pra'fect  of  the  Pr^etorium,  had  re- 
cently met  death  under  suspicious  circum- 
Htances,  and  one  of  Nero's  parasites  had  been 
appointed   to   the   office.      The    prospect  was 

'  Acts  XX.  4. 

2  Ellicott :  Intro,  to  Comuicutarj-  on  "  Ephesians." 


^T.  57.] 


THE    PRISONER   AT    ROME. 


353 


cheerless.  Read  now  the  Epistle  to  the  Phi- 
lippians,  which  Epaphroditus  took  back  with 
him  (after  a  long  detention  by  sickness),  and 
see  how  Paul  prized  the  attention  of  his  old 
friends,  and  how  Christian  love  and  gratitude 
glow  in  almost  every  sentence  of  this  letter  to 
them. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


i, 


THE  LAST  YEARS. 

"  The  great  dcsigu  unfinished  lies, 
Our  lives  are  iucoraplete, 
But  in  the  dark  unknown 

Perfect  their  circles  seem, 
Even  as  a  bridge's  arch  of  stone 
Is  rounilcd  in  the  stream." 

H.  W.    LONOPELLOW. 

"  There  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness."  —  2  Tim.  iv.  8. 

Xjl^TE  have  no  thoroughly  reliable  account  of 
'  ^  the  last  years  of  Paul's  life.i  If  Luke 
had  written  another  chapter  of  The  Acts  of  the 
Apostle,  we  would  read  it  now  with  gratitude ; 
and  why  he  did  not  write  that  additional  chap- 
ter, we  are  at  a  loss  to  comprehend.  It  is  by 
no  means  necessary,  however,  that  our  curiosity 
on  this  particular  point  should  be  gratified. 

The  general  opinion  of  early  Christians  was, 
that  after  the  expiration  of  the  two  years'  im- 
prisonment mentioned  by  Lnke,  Paul  was  set 
at  liberty  ;  that  he  used  his  freedom  to  visit 
many  of  the  churches  that  he  had  founded,  and 

1  "  At  this  instant,  we  pass  from  the  firm  and  solid  ground  of 
authentic  and  crcdil)le  history,  upon  the  quaking  and  insecure  foot- 
ing of  legendary  tradition."— MiLMAN  :  "History  of  Christian- 
ity," vol.  I,  book  II,  chap.  iii. 


^T.  57.] 


THE   LAST   YEARS. 


nf>:> 


was, 


also  to  preach  in  places  which  ho  had  not  visited 
1  efore  ;  and  that  after  some  years  he  was  again 
arrested,  and  sent  hack  to  Home,  where  he  was 
tried,  condemned,  and  beheaded.  This  is  the 
view  taken  by  almost  all  writers  on  Paul.  The 
authority  for  it  is  derived  mainly  from  two 
sources. 

In  the  first  place,  we  have  two  Epistles, 
First  Timothy  and  Titus,  which  seem  to  have 
come  from  Paul's  hand  during  a  time  of  free- 
dom, and  after  he  had  been  a  prisoner  at  Rome  ; 
while  Second  Timothy  bears  unmistakable  evi- 
dence of  having  been  written  at  Rome,  and 
apparent  indications  that  at  the  date  of  its  com- 
position, Paul  was  a  prisoner  there  for  the 
second  time.  There  are  hints  and  allusions 
scattered  through  these  letters  that  cannot  be 
so  well  accounted  for  in  any  other  way. 

In  addition  to  this  there  are  a  few  definite 
statements  by  writers,  all  of  whom  wrote  within 
three  centuries  and  a  half  of  Paul's  time.' 

Jerome,  who  lived  from  A.D.  340  to  A.D. 
420,  wrote  that  "  Paul  iras  dismissed  by  Nero, 
that  he  might  preach  Christ's  Gospel  in  the 
Westr 

Chrysostom,  who  lived  from  A.D.  347  to 
A.D.  407,  said  that "  Paul  after  his  residence  in 
Rome  departed  to  Spa  in. '^ 

'  Conybeare  and  IIowsou  :   *'  St.  Taul,"  ii.  438. 


!  M  ' 


m 
r 


v.. 


li 


356 


LIFE   OF   PAUL. 


[A.D.  «4. 


Eusel>iu.s,  who  lived  from  about  A.D.  264  to 
A.D.  340,  calls  attention  to  the  fact,  that, 
"«/?e/'  defending  himself  succes.sfulli/  it  is  cuV' 
rentlt/  reported  that  the  Apostle  again  went  forth 
to  proclaim  the  Gospel,  and  aftericarda  came  to 
Rome  a  second  time,  ana  ivaa  martyred  under 
Nero." 

We  assume  then,  on  the  strength  of  such  tes- 
timony as  this,  that  Paul,  after  living  two  years 
in  his  own  rented  apartment  in  the  Proetorium, 
receiving  all  who  came  and  faithfully  preaching 
the  Word  of  Life  to  them,  was,  either  with  or 
without  a  formal  trial,  released.  We  do  not 
know  in  which  direction  he  first  turned  his 
steps.  Conybeare  thinks  that  he  may  have 
gone  to  Spain,  and  remained  in  that  country 
between  two  and  three  years.  Lewin  with  great 
confidence  traces  Paul's  footsteps  in  Spain,  but 
assumes  that  his  visit  there  lasted  only  a  few 
months.  Farrar  rejects  entirely  the  supposition 
that  the  Apostle  ever  visited  Spain.  There  is 
better  reason  for  believing  that,  whether  Paul 
went  to  the  West  from  Rome  or  not,  a  consider- 
able part  of  this  period  of  freedom  was  passed  in 
Greece,  in  Attica,  Epirus,  and  Macedonia,  — 
where  he  met  old  friends  and  made  many  new 
ones.  In  Philippi  he  would  rejoice  to  be  once 
more  with  those  Christians  whose  love  had  never 
forgotten  him,  who  had  ministered  to  him  once 


JET.  5«.] 


THE    LAST    YEARS. 


357 


and  again.  It  was  perhaps  while  in  Philippi  or 
possibly,  at  an  earlier  cliite,  while  in  Attica  or 
Epirus,  that  the  two  letters,  the  First  Epistle  to 
Timothy  and  the  Epistle  to  Titus ,  pastor  on  the 
Island  of  Crete,  were  written.  There  is  a  fair 
presumption  that  from  Macedonia  Paul  once 
more  crossed  the  iKgean  to  Troas,  where  he 
enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  Carpus. 

On  the  night  of  July  19,  A.D.  G4,  a  fright- 
ful conflairration  burst  out  in  Rome.  It  was 
discovered  first  in  some  wretched  houses  on 
the  northern  side  of  the  city  near  the  Tiber. 
There  was  a  high  wind.  The  buildings  in  that 
part  of  the  city  were  of  the  most  combustible 
character  and,  many  of  them  being  shops  — 
were  stored  with  various  kinds  of  woods,  oils, 
and  gums.'  Besides  it  was  the  dr3'est  time  of 
summer.  The  flames  swept  from  house  to 
house,  and  from  street  to  street.  Nothing  could 
check  the  raging  tire.  For  nine  long  days  and 
nights  Rome  was  ablaze,  until  at  last  when  the 
conflagration  had  exhausted  itself,  the  terror- 
stricken  inhabitants  found,  as  they  crept  through 
the  smoke  and  over  the  scorching  pavements, 
that  there  was  left  scarcely  a  vestige  of  their 
beautiful  city.  The  palaces  of  the  rich  and  the 
hovels  of  the  poor  alike,  had  gone  down  in  the 
burning.     Rumor  whispered  that  the  emperor 

1  Dttvios  :  ♦' St.  Taiil  iu  Kouie,"  p.  143. 


\ 


i 


1  .! 


< .  -v 


ml 


358 


LIFE    OF    PAUL. 


[A.n.  68. 


himself  was  icsponsil)!©  for  the  fire ;  that  ho 
had  hiinu'd  Rome  in  order  that  he  might  gratify 
his  vanity  hy  rebuilding  it  on  a  scale  of  surpass- 
ing magniHeence  antl  splendor.  It  is  said  that 
in  order  to  protect  himself  against  this  charge, 
Nero  sent  the  report  tlying  through  the  excited 
city,  that  Christians  had  been  the  incendiaries. 
The  exasperated  people  were  (juick  to  catch  up 
this  insinuation  against  the  Christians.  Konie 
was  in  a  frenzy.  The  wildest  projects  wore  on 
foot.  The  smarting,  infuriated  populace  was 
ready  on  the  instant  to  wreak  its  revenge  upon 
those  against  whom  suspicion  had  been  started. 
Christians  were  hunted  as  if  'ley  had  been  the 
most  venomous  [)ests.  They  were  dragged  out 
of  their  hiding-places,  kicked,  scarified  and 
butchered.  Some  were  sewed  up  in  th'^  skins 
of  beasts  and  thrown  to  hungry  dogs.  Others 
wrap[)ed  in  cloths,  saturated  with  grease,  or 
smeared  with  wax  and  pitch,  '^  with  a  stake 
under  the  chin  to  keep  them  upright,"  were 
placed  for  torches  in  the  gardens  and  parks, 
and  permitted  to  be  slowly  consumed,  while 
their  agonized  groans  and  screams  were  drowned 
by  the  vengeful  shouts  of  those  who,  in  this 
grim  fashion,  made  "  a  Roman  holiday." 

The  persecution  set  on  foot  in  the  capital 
spread  throughout  the  empire.  The  very  name 
of  Christian  became  hateful  to  Romans  every- 


Mt.  59.] 


THE    LAST   YEARS. 


3')9 


where.  The  sli^^litest  pretext  was  sufficient  to 
eoiuleiim  to  deatli  a  hcliever  in  Christ,  where- 
CN'er  he  ini«j^lit  Ix'  louiid,  or  in  whatever  occupa- 
tion he  iniiht  he  eiii^'aij^ed. 

Such  was  the  popular  r«'eliiig  a<^ainst  the 
Clu'istians  wlien  in  A.  I).  05  I'aul  came  to  Troas. 
The  general  opinion  is,  that  while  Paul  was  at 
Troas  in  the  home  of  Carpus,  those  same  Kphe- 
sians  —  with  whose  business  Paul's  preaching 
had  interfered  years  before  —  heard  of  his 
whereabouts,  and,  taking  advantage  of  th(; 
universal  clamor  against  the  Christians,  once 
more  arrested  and  sent  to  Rome  this  chief  and 
head,  teacher,  leader,  and  inspiration  of  the 
pestiferous  Christian  sect.  One  historian,'  how- 
ever, advances  a  different  opinion,  namely  :  that 
Paul,  hearing  of  the  "Koman  Church,  i)erse- 
cuted,  scattered,  decimated,  —  worse  than  deci- 
mated,—  by  the  tierce  persecution,"  went  to 
Rome  of  his  own  accord  to  console  and  to  help 
his  brethren  there,  and  to  reorganize  the  shat- 
tered church.  In  whatever  way,  wliether  hav- 
ing been  brought  as  a  prisoner  or  having  come 
as  an  apostle,  about  the  year  A.  D.  60  we  trace 
the  prints  of  Paul's  weary  feet  to  the  smoulder- 
ing city.  Persecution  is  still  rife  in  Rome.  It 
will  be  remarkable  if  this  most  conspicuous  tig- 

1  Milman :  "  Histoi-y  of  Christianity,"  Vol.  I.,  Book  il,  Chap, 
iii.,  appemUx. 


300 


LIFE   OF    PAl'L. 


[A.D.  66. 


uro,  this  zcjilous  prcaclu'r  of  Christ's  Gospel,  is 
permitted  to  live  in  Rome.  Wo  seem  to  see 
him  a  prisoner  again.  lie  writes  one  more  let- 
ter, —  The,  Second  Epistle  to  Timothy.  The 
letter  is  full  of  strength  and  tenderness.  "The 
true,  loving,  undaunted,  and  trustful  heart  of 
the  great  Apostle," '  overflows  into  every  sen- 
tence and  word.  It  is  a  dying  message,  and 
filled  with  the  victor's  triumph.  He  reviews  the 
past  hardships  only  to  say,  "Out  of  them  all 
the  Lord  delivered  me."^  He  glances  up  at  the 
advancing  fury  of  his  enemies,  and  with  all  the 
calmness  of  faith,  repeats:  "The  Lord  shall 
deliver  me  from  every  evil  work,  and  shall  save 
me  into  His  heavenly  kingdom."^ 

And  this  is  the  end.^  The  historian  of  the 
fourth  century  wrote  that  Paul  "  was  martyred 

1  Ellicott:  •'  Commentaiy  on  2  Timothy,"  Introduction. 

a  2  Tim.  iii.  11. 

8  Ibid.,  iv.  18.  ' 

*  ••  The  place  of  execution  was  not  far  distant ;  and  there  the 
sword  of  the  headsman  ended  his  lonpf  course  of  sufferings,  and 
released  that  heroic  soul  from  that  feeble  body."  —  Contbeaue 
AND  IIowson:  "  St.  Paul,"  xi.  488. 

"After  the  usual  preliminaries,  the  passive  martyr  was  blind- 
folded and  laid  his  head  upon  the  block.  The  executioner  did  his 
work,  and  Paul  was  in  the  world  of  spirits."  —  Lewin:  "St. 
Paul,"  xi.  402. 

"  The  word  of  command  to  halt  was  given ;  the  prisoner  knelt 
down ;  the  sword  flashed,  and  the  life  of  the  greatest  of  the  Apos- 
tles was  shorn  away."  —  Fakrar  :  "  St.  Paul,"  xi.  578. 

"  One  stroke  of  the  fatal  weapon,  and  the  soul  of  the  glorious 
Hero  is  can'ied  up  by  angels  to  Paradise !  "  —  Macduff:  "Foot- 
steps of  St.  Paul,"  415. 


^T.  60.] 


THE    LAST   YEARS. 


3fil 


under  Nero."  Iniaginjition  pictures  "Paul  tlie 
aged,"  a  criminal,  with  a  hissing  crowd  at  his 
heels,  led  out  l)y  a  centurion,  two  miles  from 
the  city  to  a  secluded  hollow,  where  he  was  he- 
headed.  Tradition  points  out  the  spot,  and 
reverence  for  the  man,  who  of  all  men  was  the 
greatest  benefactor  of  mankind,  has  erected  over 
it  a  Christian  church. 


v*^ 


I 


ll 


'.'III' 


I    i 


i! 


I: 


f 


i; 


ii 


TABLE  OF   PAUL'S   EPISTLES. 


Where  written. 

To  whom. 

Date. 

Corinth    .    . 

.    Thessalonlans  (I.)     . 

.    .    A.D.  52. 

(( 

.    .               '*            (II.)   . 

u 

Ephkbus    .    . 

.    .    Corinthians.    .    .    . 

.    .     A.D.  56. 

Macedonia  . 

(II.)  .    . 

.    .    A.D.  57. 

Corinth    .    . 

.    Galatians     .... 

«< 

.    Romans 

ti 

Rome Philemon A.D.  62. 

"       Colossians " 

**       Ephesians " 

rhilippians A.D.  63. 


(( 


Macedonia  (?)  .    .    Timothy  (I.)    .    .    ,    .    .    A.D.  64. 
•'  (?)  .    .    Titus " 


Rome Timothy  (II.) A.D.  66. 

862 


^s. 


LIST  OF  BOOKS. 


Date, 
A.D.  52. 

A.D.  56. 

A.D.  57. 

(< 


A.D.  62. 

t< 

'  n  ' 
A.D.  63. 


A.D.  64. 

♦f, 


i.D.  66. 


The  following  brief  list  of  books  may  be  helpful  to  those 
who  desire  to  study  the  life  and  times  of  Paul :  — 

Author.  Title. 

Conybcare  and  Uowson,  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul. 
Lewin 

Farrar Life  and  Work  of  St.  Paul. 

Malleson Acts  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul. 

Macduff Footsteps  of  St.  Paul. 

Eadie Paul  tlie  Preacher. 

Taylor Paul  the  Missionary. 

Howson Character  of  St.  Paul, 

Companions  of  St.  Paul. 

Metaphors  of  St.  Paul. 

Smith Voyage   and    Shipwreck   of  St. 

Paul. 

Rawlinson St.  Paul  in  Damascus. 

Plumptre •'         Asia  Minor. 

Davies <'         Greece. 

Merivale •«         Rome. 

Myers St.  Paul,  a  poem. 

Monod Discourses  on  St,  Paul. 

Pressense *'  «< 

Paley Ilora)  Paulina). 


Uackett  . 
(Jloag .     . 
Meyer .    . 
Baumgarten 
Porter 
Di  Cesnola 


Commentary  on  the  Acts. 

<(  (< 

<<  ii 

Apostolic  History. 
Five  Years  in  Damascus, 
Cyprus. 

363 


t         £1 


364  LIST   OF   BOOKS. 

Wood Discoveries  at  Ephesus. 

Wordjworth     ....  Greece. 

Milman History  of  Christianity, 

Uhlhom Conflict  of  Cliristianity  and  Pa- 
ganism. 

Dollinger The  Gentile  and  the  Jew. 

Brace Gesta  Cliristi. 

Neandei Planting  and  Training. 

Fisher Beginnings  of  Christianity. 

Farrar Early  Days  of  Christianity. 

Stanley Essays  and  Sermons  on  the  Apos- 

tolic  Age. 

Amot The  Church  in  the  House. 

Emma  Leslie    ....  Glaucia. 

E.  F.  Burr Dio,  the  Athenian. 

Becker Gallus. 

"         Charicles. 


•'*  u 


and  Pa- 


i:n^dex. 


ty. 
ty. 

the  Apos- 
ie. 


Acropolis,  2nfi. 
Adramyttimn,  'MCt, 
Agalms,  W,  27<). 
A^ora  of  Athens,  'JOT,  20<». 
Agrippii,  Herod  I.,  2*J. 
A^ripiKi,  Herod  II.,  ;>10. 
Alexander,    the    coppersuiith, 

Alexandria.  Troas,  177. 
Ami)lnpoliH.  UN}. 
Ananias  of  Damascus,  .'»(». 
Ananias,  High  Priest,  284,  2'.».">, 

Wl. 
Antioch  of  Syria,  «»7. 
Antioch  in  Hisidia,  V^^'^. 
Antonia,  28<). 
Apollonia,  VM\. 
Apollos,  li41. 
Appian  Way,  Ml. 
Appii  Forum,  .'{42. 
Aquila,  221,  242,  251,  342. 
Arabia.  57. 
Areopagus,  20(J,  211. 
Aretas,  King,  45. 
Aristarchus,  25;{,  2<iO,  2()4,  'M), 

Ml. 
Artemisian  Festival,  250. 
\sia  Minor,  127. 
.Wsiarchs,  25(). 

Ai803,  2()9. 

Athens,  20(). 
Attn  Ma,  150. 
Attieu,  204. 

Haptisni  of  Eunuch,  78. 

Baptism  of  I'aiil,  54. 

Uarjosus.  1'_'l. 

Barnabas,  l!l,i;2,  85,  !*5,  105-1(18. 

Bereni(;e,  'ilO. 

Berea,  JOI,  2(^4. 

Burrus,  ;>."»2. 


CPBsarea,  22,  79,  209. 
Cappadocia,  12M. 
Captivity,  :«)»5,  ;i51,  .360. 
Costnr  a)vl  I'olbix,  :m,  .340. 
Cenrhrea,  218,  2«k5. 
(Vsnohi,  IK). 
(Miara«3t<^r.  Paul's,  91-95. 
"  Ciiristiaii."  !>7. 
Ciiicia,  15. 
Ciauda.   '24. 
Claudius  Lysias,  28<). 
Colossie,  2.5.3,  o.52. 
Cnin.^.^idDs,  Epistle  to,  ;J52. 
Conversion,  Saul's,  47. 
Corinth,  217,  2(k5. 
Connthians,    Epistlee    to,  255, 

2«^4. 
Cornelius,  8.3. 
Cydnus,  15,  24. 
Cyprus,  ll(j. 

Damaris,  210. 

Damascus,  41. 

D.aphne,  71. 

Demetrius,  258. 

Demoniac  girl,  188. 

Dorbo,  148. 

Diana,  Temple  of,  235. 

Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  216. 

Drusllla,  :m. 

Egnatian  Road,  182. 
Elymas,  Sorcerer,  121. 
Epaphras,  u51. 
Epaphroditus.  ;i.52. 
Eiihcshiiix,  Kpistle  to,  362. 
Ephesus,  2:r)-241. 
Epicureans,  210. 
Eunice,  171. 
Euracpiilo.  -324. 
Exorcists,  251. 

365 


366 


INDEX. 


<H\ 


Fair  Havens,  321. 
Felix,  29J). 
Featus,  308. 

friiiif^as,  183. 

f  ialatia,  128, 173. 

(Jidiitiaiis,  Epistle  to,  266. 

Gallio,  2ti5. 

Gamaliel,  School  of,  20. 

Gauls,  173. 

Greece,  181. 

Herod  Agrippa  I.,  2*2. 
Herod  Agiippa  II.,  310. 
Herostratus,  23<). 
Hospitality,  187,  221,  276,  282. 

Idolatry,  10«J,  144,  208,  238. 
Iconium,  142. 

James,  "  the  Just,"  78, 158, 281. 

Jason,  197-200. 

Jerusalem,  21,  62,  100, 157,  282. 

Jews,  108,  110,  283. 

John  Mark  {acr  "  Mark  "). 

Judas,  house  of,  48. 

Julius,  Centurion,  317. 

Laodicea,  253. 

Lois,  171. 

Luke,  17S),  220,  317,  333. 

Lycaonia,  129, 145. 

Lyons,  253. 

Lysias,  28(). 

Lyslra,  144. 

Macedonia,  179,  356. 

^Ifrander,  2.53. 

Magicians,  120,  260. 

Malta,  332. 

Mark,  John,  102,  106,  168. 

Mary,  101. 

Miletus,  269. 

Minerva,  206. 

Mnason,  282. 

Myra,  319. 

Mysia,  176. 

Navigation,  Ancient,  319. 
Nazarites,  228. 
Neapolis,  181. 
Nero,  338. 
Nicodeuuis,  152. 


Olympus.  201,  203. 
Onesimus,  351. 
Orontes,  ^Hi. 

Pamphylia,  128. 

Paphos,  119. 

Parthenon,  206. 

Patara,  272. 

"  Paul,"  change  of  name,  126. 

Pentecost,  28,  282. 

Perga,  127. 

Peter,  (12,  79-84,  1(;2. 

Pharisees,  153,  2!>4. 

I'hileinnn,  Kpistle  to,  351. 

Philip,  Deacon  and  Evangelist, 

7S,  275. 
Philippi,  183,  35<5. 
I'/iiliiiijiiuig,  Kpistle  to,  362. 
Phcebe,  2<W. 
Phcenix,  Port,  323. 
Physician  (see  Luke). 
Piraius,  204. 
Pisidia,  128. 
Priscilla,  220,  242,  342. 
Proconsuls,  22. 
Procurators,  22. 
Proselytes,  155. 
Publius,  l^iS. 
Punishment,  189. 
Puteoli,  IW). 

Rome,  S'Mi. 

Romans,  Epistle  to,  267. 

Sadducer  ^,,  294. 

St.  Paul     ^ay,  328. 

Salamis,  .    '. 

Samos,  269. 

Saniothrace,  180. 

.Sanhedrim,  M. 

"  Saul,"  change  of  name,  126. 

Sceva,  Seven  Sons  of,  261. 

Schools,  18,  20. 

Scourging,  189,  ^289. 

Seleucia,  112. 

Sergius  Paulus,  119. 

Ships,  Ancient,  319. 

Shipwreck,  331. 

Sidon,  ;{17. 

Silas,  159,  168,  200,  222. 

Silversmiths,  267. 

Sopater,  264. 

Sorcery,  251. 


INDEX. 


367 


name,  126. 


),  ;35i. 
Evangelist. 


I  to,  352. 
42. 


267. 


Sosthenes,  263. 
Stephen,  'X\. 
Stoics,  210. 
Stromboll,  3;}5. 
Sunium,  Cape,  204. 
Synagogue  Worship,  133. 

Tarsus,  15-20. 
Temple  at  Jenisaleui,  284. 
Tertullus,  m. 
Theatre  at  Epliesus,  250. 
Thessalonica,  194. 
Thessalnuians,  Epistles  to,  222. 
Timothy,  147,  170,  253, 
Timothy,  Epistles  to,  357,  3(J0. 
Titus,  167,  263. 


Titus,  Epistle  to,  ;157. 
Troas,  17T,  178. 
TrogvlUuin,  2(;0. 
Trophimus,  253. 
Tychicus,  2(54,  ;552. 
Tyrannus,  22<). 
Tyre,  273. 

Unknown  God,  215. 

Via  Appia,  .311. 

Voyage  to  Home,  31(i-312. 

Walls,  Long,  207. 

Womon,  Position   of,  72,  110, 

t537. 


name,  126. 
of,  251. 


222. 


